Tag: Indian Railways

Farmers’ rail roko protest in Patiala: 46 passenger trains cancelled, 50 diverted; check list

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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At least 50 trains were diverted on Friday as the ‘rail roko’ protest by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) continued at the Shambhu railway station in Punjab’s Patiala district.

The trains have been diverted to the Ambala-Chandigarh-Ludhiana route, the CPRO said. The Ambala-Ludhiana direct route and via Sambhu border remains impacted by the protests, it said.

Besides them, 46 passenger trains are expected to remain cancelled on this section until Saturday, May 4, according to reports.

Among the cancelled trains are Kalka Express, Satluj Express, Chandigarh-Amritsar Intercity Express and Jammu Mail.

For the last few weeks, farmers, under the banner of KMM and SKM (Non-Political), have been holding a sit-in on the tracks of the Shambhu railway station in Punjab, which lies close to the Haryana border.

The protesting farmers have made several demands, including a guarantee of MSP and an immediate release of three farmers earlier arrested by the Haryana Police.

The three arrested farmers are Navdeep and Gurkirat, who were taken into custody on March 28, and Anish, who was arrested on February 13.

Meanwhile, farmers group BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) has announced its plans to hold protests against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Gurmeet Singh Khuddian and Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer if their demands are not implemented, reports said.

While Khuddian is AAP’s candidate from Bathinda, Hayer has been fielded by the party from Sangrur in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The organisation noted that protests will be held against them in several villages.

They have asked for ownership rights of nearly five acres of land for Kiranjit Kaur, who is the wife of a deceased farmer, at Jahangir village near Dhuri. They have sought relief for damage to crops and fair compensation for laying gas pipelines in several villages in Bathinda.

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Farmers’ rail roko stir: Over 80 trains cancelled, multiple industries affected

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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More than 200 trains are affected daily as farmers continue their Rail Roko protest in Punjab’s Patiala district. Around 81 trains to and from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu have been cancelled by the Railways for Thursday, according to reports.

These include routes like Delhi-Katra, Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Fazilka, New Delhi-Amritsar, Delhi-Shamli, Delhi-Jind, Bhiwani-Dhuri, Sirsa-Ludhiana, Hisar-Ludhiana, Ludhiana-Churu, Amritsar-Hisar, Sriganganagar-Rishikesh, among others.

Besides them, the Railways have also diverted and short-terminated routes of multiple other trains on this section. These include both express as well as passenger trains.

The Delhi-Katra train passes through Ghaziabad, Meerut, Deoband, Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur. Thousands of devotees travel through it to visit the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu.

Many devotees plan to visit the holy shrine during the summer vacation of schools in May and June. However, the cancellation of the Delhi-Katra train has compelled them to either cancel their reserved tickets or reschedule their plans, reports said.

Moreover, the cancellation and diversion of trains is adversely impacting several businesses.

All Industries and Trade Forum (AITF) president Badish Jindal told The Indian Express that Haryana is gaining out of this farmers’ protest in Punjab as clients are shifting to industries in the neighbouring state.

Under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) and Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) non-political, the farmers have been sitting on tracks of Shambhu railway station in Punjab, which lies close to the Haryana border. The ‘Rail Roko’ protest has been going on for the last few weeks as the protestors have made several demands, including a guarantee of MSP. Moreover, they have also asked for the release of three farmers arrested by the Haryana Police.

While Navdeep and Gurkirat were arrested by the police on March 28, Anish was taken into custody on February 13, reports said.

Lalit Shori, president of the Oil Mill Machinery Manufacturing Association has said that the farmers’ ‘Rail Roko’ agitation may lead to big losses to auto parts, hand tools, hosiery, bicycle, and garment industries in Punjab.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Railway Ticket New Rule: Book unreserved, platform tickets from anywhere on mobile app

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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For the convenience of passengers, the Indian Railways has reportedly removed the restriction of outer limit geo-fencing distance for journey and platform tickets on the mobile app with immediate effect.

Now, passengers will be able to book unreserved and platform tickets from any station while sitting at their home, The Times of India quoted Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Saurabh Kataria as saying.

Meanwhile, the internal limit of geo fencing shall remain unchanged — which is only the station premises. Passengers will be allowed to book tickets from outside only.

Earlier, the restriction of this outer border geo-fencing distance was 50 km, the report said.

This means that a passenger was able to book an unreserved/platform ticket from a station which is located within a radius of 50 km from the mobile location. However, this restriction has now been removed by the concerned authorities.

Further, Railways is facilitating the booking of UTS tickets through mobile phones having an internet connection. Through this, the passengers will no longer be required to stand in long queues to book unreserved tickets as they will be able to book them with the help of their smartphones.

User-friendly and easy to navigate, the UTS mobile app has been receiving positive responses from passengers, especially those rail users who frequently travel by local trains or are required to book unreserved tickets.

The Railways has yet again taken another step towards passenger convenience and digitalisation with the removal of the outer limit geo-fencing restriction. The latest decision is expected to encourage more passengers to book their tickets with the help of the UTS mobile app, thereby skipping the long queues at ticket counters.

Recently, the Railways also removed the geofencing restrictions on the UTSonMobile app, which now allows users to book tickets from any location to any destination.

While the app is currently used by 25% of commuters, this major change is expected to increase the app’s usage among the masses.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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India starts working on indigenous bullet train with speeds exceeding 250 km/h: Report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India has commenced the development of an indigenous bullet train that can travel at speeds higher than 250 km/h, an English daily has reported. A senior government official told The Economic Times that this train, based on the Vande Bharat platform, is likely to outperform all existing trains on the Indian Railways Network by a significant margin.

“It is being built on the Vande Bharat platform that can already clock a maximum speed of 220 kmph,” the official told ET. The designs are being developed at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) of the Indian Railways in Chennai.

To put things into perspective, high-speed trains such as the French TGV and the Japanese Shinkansen travel at speeds of more than 250 kilometres per hour.

India is relying on Japanese technology to power bullet trains that will run on newly built track from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. According to the ET, Shinkansen E5 class bullet trains, which India will deploy on this line, can reach speeds of 320 kph.

According to the official who spoke with the daily, the focus has been on increasing the speed of Indian Railways trains.

He claims that current bullet trains take 54 seconds to accelerate from zero to 100 kmph, whereas the upcoming trains can do it in 52 seconds.

The bullet trains will travel on the previously announced north, south and east lines. According to the official, the new corridors would make more use of Indian technology and indigenous production.

These will supplement the technologically and collaboratively created Western corridor by Japan.

A soft loan of around ₹40,000 crore is being provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail project. The project would cost at least ₹1.08 lakh crore in total, the ET report said.

Recently, 300 km of pier construction was finished, according to National High-Speed Rail Corp. Ltd. (NHSRCL), the company in charge of the bullet train project.

The land purchase for the 508-kilometre stretch was wrapped up in January.

Meanwhile, a total of ₹1343.72 crores has been used to finance the production of Vande Bharat trains, according to PIB.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Indian Rail Transport Day 2024: First train to longest route, 5 facts about Indian Railways

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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We’ve all travelled on trains at least once in our lives. Train journeys are not just about reaching your destination but a collection of memories, moments, stories and interactions with strangers. Do you know that our country has one of the largest railway networks in the world? From North to South and East to West, Indian Railways has a route length of 68,426 km. It is the most efficient and popular mode of transportation among the people of India.

First passenger train of Indian Railways

Well, it was 171 years ago, on April 16th 1853, when the first passenger train ran from what was then known as Bori Bunder (Bombay) to Thane covering a distance of 34 km. Since then, the day has been celebrated as the Indian Rail Transport Day.

As we celebrate Indian Rail Transport Day today, let’s take a look at some of the interesting facts about the Indian Railways:

1. The Indian Railway Network is the world’s fourth largest rail network with a total route length of 68,426 km approx.
2. The newly launched Vande Bharat Express holds the title of the fastest train in India with a top speed of 180 km/h, whereas the slowest train in India has a speed of only 10km/h. It runs from Mettupalayam to Ooty Nilgiri.
3. The Dibrugarh-Kanyakumari Vivek Express holds the title of the longest train of Indian Railways. With a running time of 80 hours and 15 minutes. The train covers 4,233 km and runs through eight states.
4. India’s tallest Railway bridge, the Chenab Bridge, is located between Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. Standing at a height of 359 m, it’s also the world’s tallest railway bridge. It’s taller than the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty.
5. The New Delhi Railway station has been awarded with the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest Route Relay Interlocking system.

The Indian Railways operates 13,523 passenger trains daily.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Ram Navami 2024: Indian Railways to run special trains from Lucknow to Ayodhya

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Ahead of the auspicious occasion of Ram Navami, the Indian Railways has decided to run special trains from Lucknow to Ayodhya, with a large number of devotees likely to visit the Ram Mandir.

This will be the first Ram Navami after the ‘pran-pratishtha’ or the consecration ceremony at the Ram Mandir in the holy city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

Ever since the grand opening of the temple earlier this year, Ayodhya has been witnessing huge gatherings daily.

Chaitra Navratri, which is also known as Vasanta Navratri, will start on April 9 and conclude on April 17 — Ram Navami.

With the footfall expected to increase in the coming days, the Railways has decided to increase the frequency of trains to Ayodhya. Moreover, preparations are underway to run trains at the speed of 130 kmph on the Ayodhya route. With this, the travel time will be reduced by at least 30 minutes.

Besides Ayodhya, the number of people going towards Varanasi has also increased due to the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor. As a result, the Railways has decided to run special trains on the Lucknow to Ayodhya route as well, informed Sachinder Mohan Sharma, DRM, Northern Railway, Lucknow division.

Sharma said that the Railways is making arrangements for the safe journey of at least 35,000 people for Ram Navami. Efforts are also being made to run back-to-back trains.

He stated that whether it is Ayodhya or Varanasi, the number of pilgrims visiting both religious cities has been increasing for some time now. Due to this reason, Northern Railway is making arrangements for more trains towards these two cities.

Meanwhile, the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust is preparing for the forthcoming Ram Navami celebrations on April 17.

In a meeting held recently, the trust decided that Prasad Bharati would put up about 100 LED screens or LED walls at various locations across the area under Ayodhya Municipal Corporation limits along with the neighbouring markets to display the celebrations in Ayodhya live.

Also, a decision was made to start seven rows for ‘darshan’ to accommodate more visitors.

Trust secretary Champat Rai said the trust is also considering increasing the darshan timings from 14 to 20 hours to allow more visitors on Ram Navami.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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Railways earned whopping ₹1,230 crore from cancelled waiting list tickets in last 3 years

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The cancellation of tickets has emerged as a significant revenue stream for the railways, as evidenced by data obtained through a Right To Information (RTI) query. According to the data the railways earned an impressive ₹1,229 crores from cancelled waiting list tickets between 2021 and 2024. This data was shared by the Railway Ministry in response to an RTI application filed by activist Vivek Pandey from Madhya Pradesh, indicating a consistent rise in revenue generated through this avenue over the years.

According to the RTI reply, in 2021, a total of 2.53 crore tickets on the waiting list were cancelled and the earnings for the Railways shown is ₹242.68 crore. In 2022, a total of 4.6 crore tickers were cancelled and earnings rose to Rs 439 crore. Similarly, in 2023, the Railways earned ₹505 crore out of total 5.36 crore cancelled tickets and speaking of 2024, in January itself, the earnings were ₹43 crore out of 45.86 lakh cancelled tickets.

Total cancellations reported between November 5, 2023 to November 17, 2023 (i.e during Diwali week), the Railways saw 96.18 lakh ticket cancellations which included those cancelling their confirmed, reservation against cancellation (RAC) and waiting list tickets. As a result, Railways clocked earnings of ₹10.37 crore as ‘total cancellation earning’ from all tickets.

WHAT IS THE CANCELLATION CHARGE IMPOSED BY THE RAILWAYS?

If a confirmed ticket is cancelled more than 48 hrs before the scheduled departure of the train, flat cancellation charges shall be deducted:

₹240/- for AC First Class/Executive Class

₹200/- for AC 2 Tier/First Class

₹180 for AC 3 Tier/AC Chair car/ AC 3 Economy

₹120/- for Sleeper Class

₹60/- for Second Class.

If an RAC/waitlisted ticket is cancelled then ₹60 per passenger is deducted.

According to the Railways, Cancellation charges are per passenger and if a confirmed ticket is cancelled within 48 hrs and up to 12 hours before the scheduled departure of the train, cancellation charges shall be 25% of the fare subject to the minimum flat rate mentioned in the above clause.

Less than 12 hours and upto four hours before the scheduled departure of the train up to chart preparation which is earlier, 50% of the fare paid subject to the minimum cancellation charges.

SOURCE: RTI QUERY REPLY

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Titagarh Rail Systems secures over ₹1,900 crore order from Indian Railways

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Kolkata-based company Titagarh Rail Systems has clinched an order worth ₹1,909 crore from Indian Railways for supplying 4,463 wagons, specially designed to transport bulk goods such as coal and ore.

The order is expected to be executed in two years.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Umesh Chowdhary, Vice Chairman & MD, Titagarh Rail Systems said, “This recent order is on the freight side, in which we have been maintaining about 11-12% EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) margin, and this order also would be no different.”

The company’s total order book is at ₹28,000 crore, of which, the freight order book is roughly around ₹7,000-8,000 crore.

Chowdhary said the company also has multiple tenders in the pipeline on the passenger rail segment, including two from Chennai and three for Mumbai metro.

Read Here | Titagarh Rail expects the defence vertical to be a key growth driver in 3-4 years

The company targets EBITDA margin of around 15% in the passenger segment, Chowdhary said, adding that. “From FY25, we will really start getting the revenue from the passenger segment, which will significantly ramp up in FY26 when Vande Bharat execution starts.”

The company aims to achieve a run rate of 1,000 wagons per month by the year 2025.

In October-December 2023, Titagarh Rail Systems revenues grew nearly 25%, on year to ₹955 crore, while profit after tax (PAT) grew 136% to ₹75.12 crore.

The company has a market capitalisation of ₹11,763.75 crore. The shares have gained 86% over the last year.

Also Read | Titagarh Rail Systems shares cross ₹1,000 for the first time, hit record high

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

PM Modi lays foundation for redevelopment of 21 railway stations in Rajasthan

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated and laid the foundation of several railway projects, including the redevelopment of 21 stations, in Rajasthan. According to an official statement, Modi laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment works of 21 railway stations in the state — Ajmer Junction, Pali Marwar, Sanganer, Beawar, Fatehnagar, Jawai Dam, Rani, Somesar, Gogamedi, Raisingh Nagar, Dausa, Fatehpur Shekhawati, Khairthal, Neem Ka Thana, Rajgarh, Deeg, Dholpur, Govindgarh, Khedli, Bundi, and Jhalawar City.

He also inaugurated and laid the foundation for 112 road overbridges and underpasses in the state. The prime minister inaugurated and laid the foundation of redevelopment work of 553 railway stations and 1,500 road overbridges and underpasses at a cost of about ₹41,000 crore across the country under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. On the occasion, programmes were organised at 2,021 places across the country in which more than 40 lakh people participated.

Modi said that today’s India is going through a phase of change, the prime example of which is the Indian Railways. A decade ago, the average annual budget of the railways was ₹45,000 crore, which has now increased to more than ₹2.5 lakh crore. He said that Amrit Bharat station is a symbol of the country’s heritage and development. Each station reflects a specialty of the local city. For example, the Rangpo station in Sikkim is influenced by local architecture, while the Sanganer station bears the imprint of sixteenth-century handblock printing.

On this occasion, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma expressed his gratitude to the prime minister for his work. Sharma said that railways is playing an important role in realising the vision of a developed India under the able leadership of Prime Minister Modi. Along with modernisation, world-class facilities are being developed on the railways, which is providing relief to the common people. Sharma said that the Vande Bharat Express and Amrit Bharat Station are being discussed all over the world. The Indian Railways has achieved new heights through innovations in the construction of new railway lines, high-speed trains, cleanliness, and digitalisation.

He said that to make Sanganer a world-class railway station, redevelopment has been planned at a cost of ₹192 crore. Under this, the number of railway lines at Sanganer station will be increased from three to five. Besides, development works of a ticket, parcel office, retiring room, upgradation of main entry building, a 12-metre wide foot over bridge with lift, platform and shed, etc. are also proposed at the station. He said that all these facilities will increase the arrival of passengers at Sanganer station and will promote employment at the local level. He said that the connectivity of long route trains will also increase at the station, and passengers will be able to travel long distances with ease.

On this occasion, Union Railway, Communications and Electronics Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that more than 30,000 kilometers of railway lines have been constructed and doubled in the last decade.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

PM Modi lays foundation stone for Sikkim’s first railway station at Rangpo

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday laid the foundation stone for Sikkim’s first railway station at Rangpo. It was among the over 2,000 rail infrastructure projects worth about ₹41,000 crore unveiled by the prime minister.

The design of the Rangpo railway station will draw inspiration from the rich culture, heritage and architecture of Sikkim, the prime minister said in his address via video conference. Sikkim Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya was present at Khanikola in Rangpo where a function was held.

“The foundation stone laying for the Rangpo railway station is a historic and proud moment for Sikkim, underscoring its significance in the context of ‘Viksit Bharat@2047’ and its potential to enhance the tourism sector by offering expedited and convenient travel options,” Acharya said. He also noted the advantages of the railways during the monsoon, when the NH-10 encounters disruptions.

The railways will be a blessing during such times, enhancing connectivity and reliability, he added. The station will be a part of the under-construction 45-km rail line from Sevoke near Siliguri in West Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim. It will have 14 tunnels and 22 bridges.

The track on the Sevoke-Rangpo section of the Northeast Frontier Railway will have the capacity to handle 25 ton and trains can run at a maximum speed of 110 kmph. There will be three stations between Sevoke and Rangpo — Riyang, Teesta and Melli, all in West Bengal.

The project was awarded to IRCON International in May 2010 at a cost of ₹4,084.69 crore and the original deadline was May 2015. The revised date is now December 2024 with a revised cost of ₹12,474.07 crore, according to officials.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow