Indian Railways

Change in Days of operation and timing of Vivek Express

2014-07-18T18:40:00.000+05:30

Temporary Augment

2014-07-18T18:38:00.001+05:30

Railways extends 3 DEMU trains to Katra

2014-07-18T18:35:00.000+05:30

The new rail section between Udhampur – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra has been opened for people from Friday.
The following DEMU trains presently running between Pathankot – Jammu Tawi to Udhampur will be extended to run to and fro Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra.

DEMU Train To Katra

The 74909 Pathankot – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Daily DEMU train will depart from Jammu Tawi daily at 7:45 AM to reach Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 9:55 AM the same day, while in the return direction, the 74910 Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra- Pathankot Daily DEMU train will depart from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 2:50 PM to reach Jammu Tawi at 4:55 PM the same day.

The 74905 Pathankot – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Daily DEMU train will depart from Jammu Tawi daily at 12:10 Noon to reach Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 2:10 PM the same day, while in the return direction, the 74908 Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra- Pathankot Daily DEMU train will depart from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 9:45 AM to reach Jammu Tawi at 11:55 Noon the same day.

The 74907 Pathankot – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (5 days a week except Saturday and Sunday) DEMU train will depart from Jammu Tawi at 5:20 PM to reach Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 7:35 PM the same day, while in the return direction, the 74906 Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra- Pathankot (5 days a week except Saturday and Sunday) DEMU train will depart from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 7:30 AM to reach Jammu Tawi at 9:25 AM the same day.

The 74909/74910 Pathankot – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Daily DEMU, 74905/74908 Pathankot – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Daily DEMU and 74907/74906 Pathankot – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra DEMU trains will stop at Udhampur and Chak Rakhwal stations enroute on extended portion in both the directions from 4th July 2014.

Konkan Railway..TVC Rajdhani crosses Mangala express at Sangameshwar

2014-07-18T18:26:00.001+05:30

Indian Railways..EMD crosses Alco at Ghatkopar

2014-07-18T18:21:00.001+05:30

Rail Budget 2014: Indian Railways to borrow Rs 11,790 crore in 2014-15

2014-07-18T18:15:00.000+05:30

NEW DELHI: Indian Railways will borrow less at Rs 11,790 crore from market through its two companies IRFC and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd for capital expenditure during 2014-15.

The estimated market borrowing by these two companies during current fiscal were pegged at Rs 13,800 crore from markets, as per the interim Railway Budget for 2014-15 tabled in February.

Thus, there has been downward revision in the market borrowing plan by Rs 2,010 crore for the current fiscal.

"As I have increased internal resource component of Plan, I propose to scale down market borrowings... to Rs 11,790 crore," Railways Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said in his proposals while presenting the Rail Budget today.

Resources from PPP are kept at the interim (budget) level, he said.

Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) will raise Rs 11,500 crore in 2014-15 for investment in rolling stock and projects, the Railway Budget document tabled in Parliament said.

Besides, the other financial firm under Indian Railway, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), plans to raise Rs 290 crore through market borrowing.

During 2013-14, IRFC raised Rs 14,688 crore while RVNL mopped up Rs 254 crore from the market.

Besides, Railways expects to mobilise Rs 6,005 crore through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) route during 2014-15.

Apps and Sites That Make Train Travel Better

2014-07-18T14:35:00.000+05:30

The Railway Budget 2014, presented on Tuesday is being seen as a mixed bag, but it addressed a lot of digital developments. The budget laid plans for Wi-Fi in stations and on trains, and also discussed upgrade of IRCTC's online ticketing infrastructure, raising the number of bookings from 2,000 per minute to 7,200, and supporting 1,20,000 simultaneous users. Setting up regional food courts, and letting people order the food via SMS or email while on board the train could have a big impact, while a mobile-based wake up call, and destination arrival alerts could come in very handy for travellers.
Some of these facilities are already available thanks to private companies. We took a look at the best websites and apps for people traveling on trains, which can make rail journeys better. Here are five of our favourites:

1. Travel Khana

The new Railway budget has made provisions for improving the quality of food on the trains, which includes ready-to-eat meals of known brands and improved and modernised regional food courts that'll let you order food using SMS or email. You can already get food delivered to your train though, thanks to Travel Khana, a Web-based service which lets you place an order and then track the food until delivery when the train reaches the selected station. For example, if you select the Punjab Mail between Delhi and Mumbai, then Travel Khana lets you order breakfast at Gwalior, lunch at Jhansi or Bhopal, and dinner at Itarsi or Khandwa, with multiple restaurants at each location. At present, Travel Khana has ties with over 1,000 restaurants across India, and offers food deliveries to trains in 80 cities, and has options for group bookings.

2. Indian Train Alarm

Another item in the budget is a mobile-based wakeup call systems, and destination arrival alerts. This will be very useful for travellers who need to disembark at stations late at night, to make sure they don't miss their stops. In case you want to take advantage of this facility right away, the Indian Train Alarm app can help make sure that you're up when your station is approaching. Available on the Google Play store for free, the lets you set an alarm based not on the time, but rather location. You can choose from over 2,500 Indian stations listed in the app, or mark your station on the map.

Making use of the location services on an Android-based smartphone, users can set alarms that go off 5, 10, 15, or 25 kilometres from the chosen station, with a half kilometre margin for error. The best part about the app is that it works even without Internet access.

3. Rail Radar

Rail Radar is a service that was initially launched by the government, but the plug was pulled on the programme last year. Luckily, it was relaunched by Rail Yatri, the company that made the app. The service lets you see where all trains in the country are, in real-time, on a map. It uses different colours to mark trains that are running on time or running late, and you can track individual trains. Rail Yatri also has an Android app which features live train information, integrates with Travel Khana for food bookings and includes features such as a speed check for your train.

4. NTES (National Train Enquiry System)

If you don't need to see the trains on a map and just want to quickly check timings and status, then the NTES website and Windows Phone apps are a good choice instead. You can check train statuses on the website and via the app. It allows users to check the timings for trains, or get live updates from stations, train schedules, and check for cancelled, diverted or rescheduled trains. If you're an Android user, you can instead use the Indian Train Status app, which uses information from the NTES in order to provide similar information to the users, in addition to a Launch Map feature that launches the default Android Maps application and uses Google maps to show real time location of the selected train.

5. PNR Status Rail Flight Tracker

This app from online travel agency Ixigo is available for free on the Google Play store, and helps you stay on top of your travel plans. It can check your inbox for messages from IRCTC (and also major airline booking sites) and find all PNR details. Once that's done, the app keeps a record of your travel dates, and helps you view, manage and track your trip status. The app can also alert you if a booking changes status (from wait list to confirmed) and also informs you about delays or cancellations. In case your PNR isn't in your inbox, you can also add it manually, and then track all updates.

These are our five favourite sites and apps for train journeys, but if you have a favourite that we missed, let us know in the comments.

Rail Budget 2014: Six new trains for Bihar

2014-07-18T14:22:00.001+05:30

PATNA: Unlike the earlier years, the rail budget 2014-2015 has failed to enthuse people of Bihar which has given the maximum number of railway ministers namely Jagjiwan Ram, Ram Subhag Singh, L N Mishra, Kedar Pandey, Ram Vilas Paswan, Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad and Digvijay Singh (minister of state). The funds allocation for Bihar projects is also all-time low.

In the name of new trains, Bihar has got four Jansadharan Express proposed to be run on Darbhanga-Ahmedabad, Jayanagar-Mumbai, Saharsa-Anand Vihar (Delhi) and Saharsa-Amritsar routes. New weekly trains on the Patna-Ahmedabad and Chhapra-Lucknow routes have also been announced. Besides, Anand Vihar-Sasaram Garib Rath has been extended up to Gaya. Otherwise, Bihar has got nothing in this rail budget.

The state used to get a bundle of new trains during the period of former railway ministers Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad. Lalu had once given about 27 new trains to Bihar. During his tenure, Bihar had got all major railway factories, except for coach manufacturing. Railway projects worth over Rs 35,000 crore were allocated to Bihar during Lalu's period.

In 1996-97, the then railway minister, Ram Vilas Paswan, had introduced Hajipur railway zone while ECR was created during Nitish's regime. He was also instrumental in modernizing railways. Funds for safety were also raised during his tenure. The superfast Sampoorna Kranti Express was his brain child whereas AC Garib Rath was Lalu's baby as a gift to common people to travel in AC. During the past 10 to 12 years, rail budget was known as Bihar's budget in railway parlance. But now Bihar is no more the main beneficiary.

Patna Junction has not been given any superfast train for Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. About one lakh passengers travel daily from Patna Junction to different destinations. Yet, Patna was denied any Duronto or Premium train. This rail budget is also silent on the issue of starting electric loco manufacturing factory at Madhepura and diesel loco manufacturing factory at Marhaura in Saran district. More funds were expected to complete Digha-Sonepur rail-cum-road bridge, but it is not even mentioned.

Technology to Help Make Indian Railways More Modern and Efficient: Gowda

2014-07-18T14:05:00.001+05:30

Bullet trains are set to become a reality in India with the first service between Mumbai and Ahmedabad as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government sought to make Indian Railways - one of the world's largest - run like a "commercial enterprise but serve like a welfare organization".

In the Railway Budget presented to parliament Tuesday, Railway Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda unveiled many new measures to make Indian Railways, which runs about 20,000 trains and ferries 23 million passengers daily, a modern, efficient and commercially viable utility.

He presented proposals, subject to parliamentary approval, for introduction of 58 new trains, paperless office in five years, digital reservation charts, Wi-Fi in select stations and trains, wake-up call for passengers, separate freight terminals, office-on-wheels for business travellers, more money for cleanliness and safety, food courts at stations, expansion of rail tourism and better connectivity in hilly areas and north-eastern states.

He also promised a diamond quadrilateral project of high-speed rail connectivity between the four metros. He said some identified stations will be developed like modern airports.

Having already hiked passenger fares by 14.2 percent and the freight carriage charges by 6.5 percent, which is expected to fetch additional resources of Rs. 8,000 crore, Gowda focused on ways to earn revenues from other sources, such as allowing foreign equity in areas excluding operations, as also public-private partnerships. Details, he said, would be worked out.

He said Rs. 500,000 crore ($83 billion) will be required over the next 10 years to fund the modernisation plans of the network, as against the actual spend of Rs. 18,400 crore in the past 10 years, but noted that freight and passenger fare hikes alone could not fetch such large requirements.

But Gowda also made it clear that commercial viability cannot be sidestepped. "An organization of this magnitude vested with varied responsibilities, is expected to earn like a commercial enterprise but serve like a welfare organization. These two objectives are like the two rails of the railway track, which travel together but never meet," he said in his hour-long speech.

Prime Minister Modi was quick to react. "The Railway Budget keeps in mind the development of India. We can see the great use of technology also," he tweeted, adding: "This budget strengthens institutional mechanism. It focuses on transparency and integrity."

Ranked among the world's top five, the Indian railroad network ferries 23 million people and 2.65 million tonnes of goods daily, or 1.1 billion tonnes annually, from 7,172 stations on 12,617 passenger and 7,421 freight trains over more than 64,000 route km.

With a network stretching from Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir in the foothills of the Himalayas to the southern tip of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, the Indian Railways is also among the largest employers with an estimated 1.4 million people on its rolls.

Shifting to finances, Gowda pegged the total receipts at Rs. 1,64,374 crore and the total expenditure at Rs. 1,49,176 crore while expecting a 4.9 percent growth in freight and a small growth in passenger traffic this fiscal. He projected an operating ratio, or the amount spent to earn one rupee, at 92.5 paise - one paisa more than in 2013-14.

"The Indian Railways will improve system capabilities in e-ticketing to support 7,200 tickets per minute as against 2,000 tickets and allow 120,000 simultaneous users at any point," the minister said, adding that coin-operated vending machines will also be launched.

As regards the high-speed projects, the minister said Indian Railways would require more than Rs. 900,000 crore crore ($150 billion) to complete the golden quadrilateral network and about Rs. 60,000 crore ($100 billion) for introducing one bullet train alone.

"It is the wish and dream of every Indian that India runs a bullet train as early as possible. Madam Speaker, Indian Railways is on its way to fulfil that long cherished dream. We propose bullet trains by starting off with an already identified Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector, where a number of studies have been done," Gowda said.

Modi, in his election speeches, had talked about introducing bullet trains, after seeing them run in Japan and China, if he came to power.

Gowda also listed four new ways to mobilise resources allowing foreign equity, more public-private partnerships, commercial funds augmentation by state-run railway firms and extending tax holidays for long gestation projects

With a poor track record on safety, the Railway Budget also proposed a multi-pronged approach to make train journey safe, secure and comfortable for passengers, with more thrust on passenger amenities, cleanliness and efficient station management.

In a report presented in 2012, an official committee chaired by noted scientist Anil Kakodkar had put the number of rail-related deaths at 15,000 people per annum. "No civilized society can accept such a massacre on their railway system," the report said.

Bullet trains, FDI in rail and branded food: Full text of Railway Budget 2014-15

2014-07-18T13:52:00.000+05:30

Sparing passengers of any further fare hike, Railway Budget for 2014-15 proposes to attract private domestic and FDI in infrastructure projects and pursuing private-public partnership to boost the finances of the cash-strapped railways.

Bullet Trains In India

Having hiked fares to the tune of 14.2 percent recently, Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda who presented the new government's first budget in Lok Sabha said he plans to leverage railway PSU resources by bringing in their investible funds in infrastructure projects.

He announced plans to introduce a bullet train in Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector and setting up of a Diamond Quadrilateral network of high speed rail connecting major metros and growth centres. A sum of Rs 100 crore has been provided for initiating the project.

RAIL BUDGET - Bullet Trains and Diamond Quadrilateral Network of High Speed Rail

2014-07-18T13:44:00.002+05:30

Bullet Trains In India

The Minister of Railways Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda has said that Indian Railways is on its way to fulfill the long cherished dream to run a Bullet Train. Presenting the Railway Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today, he said, the Railways proposes bullet trains by starting off with an already identified Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector, where a number of studies have been done.

The Minster said, under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modiji, the Railways is embarking on an ambitious plan to have a Diamond Quadrilateral Network of High Speed Rail, connecting major Metros and growth centers of the country. A provision of Rs.100 crore has been made in the Budget for high Speed project to RVNL/HSRC (High Speed Rail Corridor) for taking further steps.

He said, while bullet trains would require completely new infrastructure, higher speed for existing trains will be achieved by upgrading the present network. The Minister said, hence, an effort will be made to increase the speed of trains to 160-200 kmph in select sectors so as to significantly reduce travel time between major cities. The Minister said, the identified sectors are:

i) Delhi-Agra
ii) Delhi-Chandigarh
iii) Delhi-Kanpur
iv) Nagpur-Bilaspur
v) Mysore-Bengaluru-Chennai
vi) Mumbai-Goa
vii) Mumbai-Ahmedabad
viii) Chennai-Hyderabad and
ix) Nagpur-Secunderabad.

RAIL BUDGET - Catering Services to be Improved

2014-07-18T13:39:00.000+05:30

Food Courts to be Set up at Major Stations:-

The Minister of Railways Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda has said that in order to improve the quality, hygiene of on-board catering services and to provide variety, the Indian Railways proposes to introduce Pre-cooked (Ready-to-eat) Meals of reputed brands in a phased manner. Presenting the Railway Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today he said, to bring perceptible improvement in the catering services, he proposes to introduce Quality Assurance Mechanism through Third Party Audit by NABCB certified agencies.

He said, in addition to the third party audit, a system of collecting feedback through IVRS mechanism, from the travelling passengers on the quality of food served, will be launched shortly. The Minister said, if the service is not to the standards set, especially in hygiene and the taste, severe action would be initiated against the vendors including cancellation of the contract.

The Minister said, Indian Railways also proposes to set up Food Courts at major stations to provide the option of ordering regional cuisine while onboard, through emails, SMS and Smart Phones, etc. A pilot project will be started shortly between New Delhi-Amritsar and New Delhi-Jammu Tawi sections.

RAIL BUDGET - 58 New Trains to be Introduced 11 Existing Trains to be Extended

2014-07-17T19:42:00.001+05:30

Railways proposes to introduce 58 new trans which includes five Jansadharan Trains, five Premium Trains, six AC Express Trains, 27 Express Trains, eight Passenger Trains, two MEMU services and five DEMU services this year. Announcing this in Parliament today while presenting the rail budget, the Minister of Railways Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda also proposed to extend the run of 11 existing trains.

Shri Gowda said these services would be meeting the demand surges which manifest themselves on special occasions. He said that special trains would continue to run to meet the holiday and festival rush including services for Melmaruvathur, Velankanni, Jhalawar etc.

NEW TRAINS

Jansadharan Trains

i) Ahmedabad–Darbhanga Jansadharan Express via Surat

Ii Jaynagar–Mumbai Jansadharan Express

ii) Mumbai–Gorakhpur Jansadharan Express

iv) Saharasa–Anand Vihar Jansadharan Express via Motihari

v) Saharasa–Amritsar Jansadharan Express

Premium Trains

i) Mumbai Central–New Delhi Premium AC Express

ii) Shalimar–Chennai Premium AC Express

iii) Secunderabad- Hazrat Nizamuddin Premium AC Express

iv) Jaipur–Madurai Premium Express

v) Kamakhya–Bengaluru Premium Express

AC ExpressTrains

i) VijayawadaNewDelhiAPExpress(Daily)

ii) LokmanyaTilak(T)–Lucknow(Weekly)

iii) Nagpur–Pune(Weekly)

iv) Nagpur–Amritsar(Weekly)

v) Naharlagun–NewDelhi(Weekly)

vi) Nizamuddin–Pune(Weekly)

ExpressTrains

i) Ahmedabad–Patna Express(Weekly)via Varanasi

ii) Ahmedabad Chennai Express(Biweekly)via Vasai Road

iii) Bengaluru –Mangalore Express(Daily)

iv) Bengaluru –Shimoga Express(Biweekly)

v) Bandra(T)–Jaipur Express(Weekly)Via Nagda,Kota

vi) Bidar–Mumbai Express(Weekly)

vii) Chhapra–Lucknow Express (Tri weekly)viaBallia,Ghazipur,Varanasi

viii) Ferozpur–Chandigarh Express(6 days a week)

ix) Guwahati–Naharlagun Intercity Express(Daily)

x) Guwahati–Murkongselek Intercity Express(Daily)

xi) Gorakhpur–Anand Vihar Express(Weekly)

xii) Hapa–Bilaspur Express(Weekly)via Nagpur

xiii) Hazur Saheb Nanded–Bikaner Express(Weekly)

xiv) Indore–Jammu Tawi Express(Weekly)

xv) Kamakhya–Katra Express(Weekly)via Darbhanga

xvi) Kanpur–Jammu Tawi Express(Biweekly)

xvii) Lokmanya Tilak(T)–Azamgarh Express(Weekly)

xviii) Mumbai_Kazipeth Express(Weekly)via Balharshah

xix) Mumbai–Palitana Express(Weekly)

xx) New Delhi Bhatinda Shatabdi Express(Biweekly)

xxi) New Delhi–Varanasi Express(Daily)

xxii) Paradeep–Howrah Express(Weekly)

xxiii) Paradeep–Visakhapatnam Express(Weekly)

xxiv) Rajkot–Rewa Express(Weekly)

xxv) Ramnagar–Agra Express(Weekly)

xxvi) Tatanagar Baiyyappanahali (Bengaluru) Express(Weekly)

xxvii) Visakhapatnam–Chennai Express(Weekly)

Passenger Trains

i) Bikaner–Rewari Passenger(Daily)

ii) Dharwad–Dandeli Passenger(Daily)via Alnavar

iii) Gorakhpur–Nautanwa Passenger(Daily)

iv) Guwahati–Mendipathar Passenger(Daily)

v) Hatia–Rourkela Passenger

vi) Byndoor–Kasaragod Passenger(Daily)

vii) Rangapara North–Rangiya Passenger(Daily)

viii) Yesvantpur–Tumkur Passenger(Daily)

MEMU services

i) Bengaluru –Ramanagaram 6 days a week(3Pairs)

ii) Palwal–Delhi–Aligarh

DEMU services

i) Bengaluru –Neelmangala (Daily)

ii) Chhapra–Manduadih (6days a week)via Ballia

iii) Baramula–Banihal (Daily)

iv) Sambalpur–Rourkela (6 days a week)

v) Yesvantpur Hosur (6 days a week)

EXTENSION OF RUN OF EXISTING TRAINS

i) 22409/22410 Anand Vihar Sasaram Garib Rath Express to Gaya

ii) 12455/12456 Delhi Sarai Rohilla Sriganganagar Express to Bikaner

iii) 15231/15232 Gondia Muzaffarpur Express to Barauni

iv) 12001/12002 New Delhi Bhopal Shatabdi Express to Habibganj

v) 54602 Ludhiana–Hissar Passenger to Sadulpur

vi) 55007/55008 Sonpur–Kaptanganj Passenger to Gorakhpur

vii) 55072/55073 Gorakhpur–Thawe Passenger toSiwan

viii) 63237/63238Buxar–Mughalsarai MEMU toVaranasi

ix) 63208/63211Jhajha–PatnaMEMUtoJasidih

x) 64221/64222LucknowHardoi MEMU to Shahjahan pur

xi) 68002/68007Howrah–Belda MEMU to Jaleswar

Modi Government's First Rail Budget

2014-07-17T19:38:00.000+05:30

New Delhi: Departing Platform One at New Delhi station last week was India's fastest train: the test run of the Delhi-Agra express - dubbed "semi-high speed" by local media - topped a record-breaking 160 kilometres per hour on its way to the Taj Mahal.

But the velocity, though triple the 50 kilometres average clocked on trips across the country, is barely one-third of the top-speed of China's fastest train, showing the extent to which India's expansive but under-funded train network has failed to keep pace.

"The capacity of the track is almost saturated," Anurag Sachan, divisional railway manager for Delhi, said in his office next to New Delhi's giant station. "We could go as high as 200 km but we would need to have a completely new track for higher speeds."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who started out selling tea outside a train station, has promised to modernise India's railways and build high-speed engines befitting Asia's third-largest economy.

On Tuesday, his new government will unveil its maiden railways budget, with expectations high that he will offer bold plans to improve the service - a lifeline for two crore thirty lakh Indians every day.

Among the goals is bringing much more private money into one of the country's largest state-controlled industries. At present, there's small private involvement in suburban services and locomotive manufacturing.

In a speech last week, Modi hinted at how much of a revamp he believed the railways needed, telling an audience in Kashmir that he wanted an upgrade of stations, many of which look much as they did under the British.

"Why do our railway stations need to be so old, why can't they be better than our airports?" he said, after waving a green flag to inaugurate services on a stretch of track in the mountain state.

Railway budget may push Mumbai-Ahm bullet train

2014-07-17T19:33:00.000+05:30

Mumbai: The first Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed train proposal may get a push in the new government's maiden rail budget, considering Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of a diamond quadrilateral of bullet trains to connect the four major cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai.
A high-speed train will run at a maximum speed of 320km/h and cover 534km between the two cities in two hours.
Railway officials in Mumbai said a lot of brainstorming has gone into taking the Mumbai-Ahmedabad train project forward as it involves Modi's home state of Gujarat. An official said, "Japan International Consortium is expected to complete the project feasibility report by 2015. However, trains are most likely to originate at Bandra-Kurla Complex."
Moreover, it has been decided that the corridor will not have more than five stations, against the initial plan for 11.
"The station's location at Ahmedabad is yet to be finalized, but the train in all likelihood will start in Mumbai at BKC and travel to Thane (near Diva), before heading towards Palghar via Virar. It will then follow the existing alignment in Gujarat with halts at Surat, Vadodara and Ahmedabad."
The official said in Mumbai, the corridor will run underground between BKC and Thane.
An official said, "The project is going to be major challenge as apart from engineering challenges, we will also have to overcome other hurdles such as land acquisition, cooperation, relief and rehabilitation of project-affected people and raising of funds."
The railways is keen to implement this project on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis with Maharashtra and Gujarat as stakeholders. The project was originally planned as the Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor. Railway officials, though, said its Pune-Mumbai leg may not be financially viable.
An official said, "Thane has been provided with an option to connect the bullet trains to Pune in future."
A view prevails in the state government that the proposed Mumbai-Ahmedabad route will primarily benefit Gujarat more as the route covers three of its premier cities—Surat, Vadodara and Ahmedabad. None of Maharashtra's major cities, except Mumbai, will benefit, the official said.
A pre-feasibility study for the Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad route was conducted by French consultancy firm Systra. Indian Railways, though, has decided to abandon the Pune-Mumbai leg of this stretch as it could turn out to be a loss-making proposition due to poor patronage.

SMS TICKET BOOKING :: STARTING FROM JULY

2013-06-13T14:15:00.000+05:30

Indian Rail Mobile SMS Ticket Booking Service
Indian railways announced a new Ticket booking service through Mobile SMS from July Month. Most probably this will launch on July 1 - 2013 itself. This movement will avoid existing long queue for getting train ticket as well as Online IRCTC Ticket Booking connection issues etc. I know most of them keep on waiting for these kind of great movement of the Indian Rail ticket booking services. Another advantage of SMS ticket booking is that no need to taking printout of the Ticket you have booked, just to show the SMS replay you have received from Indian Rail after the Ticket booking.

The Indian Rail SMS ticket booking available for the mobile number registered with IRCTC as well as Bank users only. For the payment gateway of SMS ticket booking using the Bank provides MMID (Mobile Money Identifier) and OTP (one time password) for authorization of payment. As per latest media report "A dedicated telephone number will soon be provided to carry out the transactions". Through this SMS service we can book Six berths or seats can be booked in a single transaction.

SMS booking is very simple as a passenger has to type the train number, destination, journey date, class and passenger details such as name, age and gender on the SMS box. The service is available with Rs 3 is being charged per SMS and payment gateway charges are Rs 5 for ticket amount up to Rs 5,000 and Rs 10 for more than Rs 5,000.

There are basically 2 types of SMS booking service

SMS based booking

All the users with mobile number registered with IRCTC as well as Bank can able to use this option.
You just have to do send SMS to designated number as "BOOK". You will receive a transaction ID as replay. Make payment with an SMS to designated number as "PAY"

USSD (menu-based dialling)

Dial designated number and select 'book tickets' option, select 'reservation' (user is prompted to enter his IRCTC user ID once only), enter details (station, train no., date, etc).Enter mPIN for authorizing payment through mobile wallet. Finally Booking confirmation received as SMS from IRCTC

Tour packages from IRCTC

2013-06-07T14:32:00.000+05:30

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, via its Bharat pilgrimage tourist trains, have begun reservations for four new tourist packages for the months of June - July.

Starting June 5, the tour covering Shirdi, Pandaripuram, and Mantralayam for eight days would cost Rs 4,435.

Another tour package on June 16 for twelve days, covering Puri, Konark, Bhuvaneshwar, Guwathi, Kolkata, cost Rs 6,660. From July 1, a nine-day tour covering Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Badrachalam, Puri, Vishakapatnam, Annavaram, cost Rs 4,980. And finally starting July 10, a 15-day tour which include Dwaraka, Ujjain, Madhura, Haridwar, Ayodhya, Varnasi and Kanchipuram, cost Rs 8,335.

For all tours, trains leave from Madurai, stopping at Dindigul, Karur, Erode, Salem and Chennai. The tour cost is inclusive of train fares, group accommodation, south Indian vegetarian food and tourist bus facility. For reservation, contact: Chennai central Railway station, 044 64594959, 9003140681/ Madurai 0452 2345757, 9003140714 and Coimbatore 90031 440680.

SCR adds 30 coaches permanently in 8 trains

2013-06-07T14:23:00.003+05:30

Given the heavy passenger rush and long waiting lists, South Central Railway (SCR) added 30 coaches in eight express trains permanently to accommodate more passengers.

Authorities said efforts were on to increase the coach composition of popular express trains subject to a maximum of 24 coaches in each train. In a phased manner, 30 coaches were added in Secunderabad-Mumbai Duronto, Hyderabad-Ajmer Express, Secunderabad-Patna Express, Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Garibrath Express, Secunderabad-Darbhanga Bi-weekly express, Secunderabad-Sainagar Shirdi express and others since last two months.

SPECIAL TRAIN

2013-06-07T14:21:00.000+05:30

To clear the rush of passengers, South Western Railway will run a one-way express special train from Yeshwantpur to Visakhapatnam (Train No. 6525) on Thursday. The train will leave Yeshwanthpur at 10.10 p.m. on Thursday and reach Visakhapatnam at 10 p.m. on Friday. En route, the train will arrive/depart at Dharmavaram at 2.45 a.m./2.50 a.m.; Dhone at 5.40 a.m/5.50 a.m.; Nandyal at 7.20 a.m./7.25 a.m.; Cumbam at 9.06 a.m./9.07 a.m.; Markapur Road at 9.41 a.m./9.42 a.m.; Vinukonda at 10.56 a.m./10.57 a.m.; Narasarapet at 11.37 a.m./11.38 a.m.; Guntur at 12.55 p.m./1.15 p.m.; Vijayawada at 2.15 p.m./2.30 p.m.; and Rajahmundry at 5.45 p.m./5.47 p.m.

NEW TRAINS WILL GO KATRA FOR VAISHNODEVI SHRINE

2013-06-03T13:53:00.000+05:30

New Delhi. 25 km long Udhampur - Katra railway line and railway Katara is almost complete clearance of trains running over to make it to the Commissioner of Railway Safety. The hill before turning Railroad Railway Board chairman Vinay Mittal and VK Gupta, General Manager, Northern Railway will inspect it thoroughly. Currently, passenger trains can only find j. Passengers by road from Jammu to Vaishno Devi has to use.

These trains will run

New Delhi - Udhampur Express
Sarai Rohilla - Udhampur Express.
Jammu Mail
Chandigarh - Katra Exress.
Ahmedabad - Udhampur Express
Delhi - Pathankot Express.
Uttar Sampark Kranti

Katra rail route USP =

07 tunnels, 30 small and big bridges on the railroad

A tunnel is located at an altitude of 185 feet

01 million pilgrims visit Vaishno Devi temple every year

Most pilgrims visit the Vaishno Devi Tirupati

The philosophy of Vaishno Devi pilgrims come each year about 80 million. The Tirumala Tirupati temple after Venkteshwaraya the highest number of devotees come for darshan of Vaishno Devi. Vaishno Devi Temple and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board in charge of arrangements surrounding is near.

How to reach
52 kilometers north of Vaishno Devi in Jammu and are about 14 km from Katra. Katra is located at an altitude of about 2800 feet from Jammu takes two hours by bus to get here. Jammu is the nearest airport, which is 48 km from Katra. If you are planning to travel by train can go by train to Jammu. After reaching Jammu to Katra can be reached by bus. It takes two hours. 13 kms from Katra to the shrine has to be trekked. In addition to walking through Katra horse also set up the way you can.

Make a booking online
You can travel planning online, and many can also book online. Online registration is at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. Registration Slip and worship other than passengers booking rooms can also book online. Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board for visiting the website you have to register and ID - password are taking. Now log in with the user name and password - Get slip in and visit. Then take a printout of the slip. No fees required to travel to slip.

Katra before starting the journey ahead take care of these things:
- Want to take the video camera to take his leave. So get out your video camera is not allowed in Katra submit. On the way shooting is prohibited.
- Registration at the booking counter at Katra Make sure to slip and trip. Visit the slip in the manner described can also be taken online.
- Backpack, take a pony or sedan ICARD course of those who run them are Czech.
- During the climb, so as you can get a life, low - to - carry less baggage.
- Avoid using polythene bags.
- Use the path indicated during the climb and enjoy the natural beauty. Short - Do not fall prey to cut.
- Donation at the donation counter and systematically to ensure its receipt.
- Protection of the security agencies to investigate.
- Clean environment - Maintain clean. Do not use plastic bags.
- Too much cash, jewelery or avoid carrying valuables.
- Do not trust strangers.
- Do not encourage beggars.

NOW PASSENGERS CAN COMPLAIN ABOUT POOR FOOD IN TRAINS

2013-06-03T13:32:00.000+05:30

Quality of food is poor passenger complaint toll - free number 1800-111-321 be able to. For the convenience of passengers at railway ticket number to print it started. If the individual e - ticketing is built on the mobile phone number of the incoming message information goes on. According to the public relations department of railway passenger from 7 am to 10 pm, toll - free number will be able to complain. But if the complaint relates caterers or vendor will be fined. Toll free helpline number Railways had already started, but did not remember when needed number of passengers. Tickets remain on the number of passengers will not need to find the number.

Extension of Summer Special Trains

2013-06-01T14:06:00.000+05:30

Railways have decided to extend the run of summer special trains between Dadar and Sawantwadi Road to clear the extra rush of passengers. The details are as under:

01003 special train will leave Dadar at 7.50 am on 4.6.2013 & 7.6.2013 (2 trips) and arrive Sawantwadi Road at 8.15 pm same day.

01004 special train will leave Sawantwadi Road 5.00 am on 5.6.2013 & 8.6.2013 (2 trips) and will arrive Dadar 4.00 pm same day.

HALTS: Thane, Panvel, Roha, Mangaon, Khed, Chiplun, Sangameshwar Road, Ratnagiri, Adavali, Vilawade, Rajapur Road, Vaibhavwadi Road, Kankavali, Sindhudurg, Kudal and Zarap.

COMPOSITION: One AC Chair car, 8 Sleeper class, 2 General second class and 2 General second class cum Guard’s Brake vans.

RESERVATION: Bookings open from 2.6.2013

IRCTC website to book 7,200 tickets per minute

2013-05-28T14:33:00.000+05:30

NEW DELHI: With the aim of bridging the gap between demand and supply in e-ticketing category, IRCTC today spelt out its grand plan to book 7200 e-tickets per minute in the current fiscal.

Currently, the ticketing site of the IRCTC is able to handle about 1.2 lakh concurrent connections on web servers and can book about 2000 tickets per minute.

In a detailed presentation of its upgrading, IRCTC Managing Director R K Tandon explained the action plan for capacity enhancement to the Railway Minister CP Joshi at a review meeting here.

It would cost about Rs 100 crore to Railways for strengthening the ticketing site.

A power point presentation was made before the Railway Minister about the plan to strengthen the website to enable it for booking 7200 tickets per minute, said a seniorRailway Ministry official.

Besides Joshi, Railway Board Chairman Vinay Mittal and CRIS Managing Director Sunil Kumar were also present.

CRIS, the technical arm of railways, is involved in the upgrading of the IRCTC website.

The official said the upgrading of website is a continuous process as an average booking per day has been increased from 3.67 lakh in 2012 to 4.15 lakh now.

There are about 31 crore reserve tickets being booked in a year out of which 55 per cent tickets are sold through windows. While 37 per cent tickets are booked online, eight per cent are being booked by ticketing agents.

Tendering process for upgrading of software and strengthening of hardware is on as per the Rail Budget announcement, said the official.

Former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal had announced in his Rail Budget 2013-14 that the booking capacity will be enhanced to 7200 tickets per minute with the development of next generation software for the e-ticketing site.

Generally there is a huge load on the website at 10 AM, when booking of Tatkal tickets opens. The booking of ticket varies from time to time based on festival and vacations.

Biometric devices at railway station entrances soon

2013-05-28T14:28:00.000+05:30

MAHBUBNAGAR: All railway stations in the country will be provided with biometric devices at the entrance gates to ensure the safety of passengers, Union minister of state for railways K Suryaprakash Reddy said in Mahbubnagar on Monday.

After inspecting the Jedcherla and Mahbubnagar railway stations, he said passengers' safety is a prime concern for the Indian railways. He said escalators will also be provided at all main railway stations in a phased manner.

He said another train will be introduced between Kurnool and Hyderabad, like in the existing Tungabhadra train. He said nearly Rs 1,023 crores and 23 new trains were allocated to the state during this year for the development of the state.

The minister also said a foot over bridge would be constructed at the Jedcherla railway station. He assured passengers that the need for a halt of Yashwanthpur express would be looked into.

Modern equipment to keep railway station clean

2013-05-27T14:10:00.001+05:30

PUNE: Passengers at the Pune railway station can expect cleaner platforms, aprons and premises, as the railway administration has outsourced daily cleaning and maintenance activities to a private firm. A well-trained cleaning staff of about 120 is expected to work round-the-clock in three shifts. High-quality equipment, such as sweepers and flippers, has been made available at the station, a railway official said.

The railway administration has faced a lot of criticism in the last few months because of unclean station premises, filthy atmosphere and stinking platforms. Despite repeated complaints, the administration had failed to maintain high cleanliness standards. "Cleaning work has now been allotted to a new contractor. With this, we hope that the number of complaints regarding unclean premises comes down," the official said.

The official added that railway authorities have been asked to keep daily updates on whether the cleaning work meets the standards. The on-duty staff is expected to work round-the-clock, which means cleaning will also be done at night. Authorities will carry out surprise checks of the station and the administration will also seek feedback from passengers, if required.

Ramesh Kachi, a frequent train commuter, said steps to improve cleanliness of the premises were long necessary . "Barring platform number one, the administration has failed to maintain all platforms. Aprons are always unclean, and there is a stink all over the station ," he said.

Pune-Mumbai Railway Pravasi Sangh vice-president Mangilal Solanki said, "With more than one lakh passengers and 150 trains departing from the station every day, a separate team is needed to maintain hygiene and cleanliness on the premises. The administration should allocate additional funds for the daily maintenance work."

Pune railway division public relations officer Y K Singh said passengers should also contribute to keep the premises clean by not throwing bottles, plastic bags and trash on the tracks and platforms.