Demands for Thrissur

(Mathrubhumi Nagaram dt 22-10-2012)

TRPA submits proposal for Rail Budget 2013-14

(Mathrubhumi dt 21-10-2012)

Alternate to High Speed Rail Corridor

(Madhyamam dt 12-10-2012)

Now, 6,500 trains can be tracked real time

NEW DELHI: Now, railway passengers can track trains on real-time basis. Railways has launched online application RailRadar, which is an interactive map onGoogle that can facilitate passengers to track movements of all trains running across the country. The passengers can locate the trains on real-time basis on both internet and their cellphones. RailRadar, developed by a Railway PSU Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) in collaboration with RailYatri, is a live tracker of all passenger trains traffic in real time. The interactive map will help users to find the exact geographical location of about 6,500 trains on a Google map on real-time basis, an official said. The system enables a colour-coded method as trains highlighted in blue indicate those that are running on time, while the red markers indicate trains that are delayed or running behind schedule. An official said if you click on a particular train, the map will show the exact route of the train including all the stoppages and the current location of the train on real-time basis. RailRadar can be accessed through the railway website, trainenquiry.com. To know the current status of the train, a passenger can enter a train name or number and the system will inform whether the train is delayed or running on time. The interactive map zooms in and out to get train and station detail. Users can search for a particular station or train to get specific details of trains around the station or running status of a train, location, its route and stoppages. RailRadar gives an overview on train on time and delay status. In case of an accident or unplanned activity, the site would be able to provide users with an overview of situation and train status across the country. "The live tracker is shown on an interactive map which permits users to watch the movements of trains running across the country," a railway official said, adding that the move is first for any major railway system in the world. (Times of India dt 11-10-2012)

Better patronage for B’lore train during afternoon hrs

Kochi: Ticket booking patterns of the Kochuveli-Bangalore Express seem to support the view of the rail passenger associations that it will have better patronage if started in the afternoon and not during night hours as the railways proposed. The triweekly service used to have a waiting list almost on all days when it was leaving Kochuveli at 4.05pm and reaching Bangalore at 8.35am the next day. However, many seats remained vacant when railways last month introduced a special train on three days a week leaving Kochuveli at 09.20pm, as per the information collected by Thrissur Railway Passengers’ Association general secretary P Krishnakumar. An additional daily train connecting Kerala and Bangalore, where a large number of Keralites work and study, has been a long pending demand. It was announced in this year’s rail budget that the tri-weekly Kochuveli-Bangalore Express would be made a daily service. Its original timing was convenient for the passengers as they needed to spend only the night hours in the train. Similarly, the train was slotted to leave Bangalore at 5.15pm and reach Kochuveli at 09.25am the next day. However, as per the revised train time table that came into force on July 1, the train was slotted to leave Kochuveli at 9.20pm and reach Bangalore at 12.45pm. In the return leg, it was scheduled to leave Bangalore at 2.15pm and reach Kochuveli at 6.05am. Following a series of public protests, the Railways introduced a special tri-weekly train on the route last month on the planned timings. And, despite the heavy demand on the Kerala-Bangalore route, the train had 100 to 493 vacant seats in the sleeper class while the service leaving Kochuveli at 4.05pm had a waiting list of 24 to 205, Krishnakumar said. (T Ramavarman TNN, Times of India dt 4-10-2012)