Dial 1800111321 for complaint against food in trains

NEW DELHI: If you have any grievance against the food served on trains, just dial 1800111321 to lodge your complaint. The toll-free number launched by railways is operational from 7am to 10am throughout the week. Concerned over increasing number of complaints against catering service in trains and stations, railway minister Pawan Kumar Bansal announced a slew of measures, including the toll-free number, to improve the quality of food for passengers. "Any one can call the toll-free number and register his or her complaint and it will be addressed," said Bansal here. "The complaint can relate to anything including overcharging, less quantity or substandard quality. It will be addressed on real-time basis," he said. The number has been operational since January 18 and till date 26 complaints have been received. Assuring the passengers of action against erring catering contractors, Bansal said mobile squads have been formed to keep a regular check on contractors in trains and stations and the toll-free number will be displayed in coaches and stations prominently to make passengers aware about the facility. Admitting that the quality of curd served in trains is not good, Bansal said "we are finalising a policy to ensure that only curd prepared by reputed companies are served". (Times of India dt 24-1-2013)

FOCUS WILL BE ON RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE

As The Railway Budget Draws Near, Kerala Seeks Central Approval To Complete A Host Of Long-Pending Projects Shyam P V | TNN Since the rail budget of this year is likely to be UPA government’s last before the 2014 polls, the state government will urge the Centre and railways to approve the yet-to-be started and delayed projects that were declared for the state during the past years. Sources in the transport ministry said UPA will take a holistic approach while preparing this year’s budget, giving priority to on-going projects. “While preparing proposals, we will focus more on delayed projects this year. It is the only way to ensure that the state benefits from the political situation at the Centre,” he said. The state’s wish list includes projects that were approvedin the past namely - railway coach/wagon factories at Palakkad and Cherthala,117-km Angamaly-Sabari rail link, doubling of Haripad-Ambalappuzha and Chengannur-Thiruvalla stretches, electrification of Shoranur-Kannur line and gauge conversion of Punalur-Chenkotta and Pollachi-Palakkad stretches. It also includes completion of automatic signalling system, automatic block signal system and more Memu services. Attingal MP A Sampath said the state is not keen on demanding new projects. “Railways has already announced many futuristic projects for the state over the past few years. Our request is to start them one by one. We would be happy if they approve more Memu services, peninsular railway zone, drinking water project and a railway medical college at Thiruvananthapuram. We would like to see more manned railway crossings and safety measures for women passengers,” he said. Meanwhile, an MP from the Congress, on condition of anonymity, admitted that Kerala is always behind schedule in preparing proposals. “The main reason is lack of optimism. We are actually at the mercy of railway bureaucrats. A lobby among bureaucrats decide everything in the department. The medical college project was put on hold citing inadequate land plot since a minimum of 10 acres is required. Railways has over 50 acres of unused land at Kadakkavoor. The college and drinking water project can be set up there as area is not thickly populated. The place, used as watering station by the British, has abundant groundwater. However, the railway authorities are not taking any proactive steps,” said the MP. Passengers are of the opinion that the state should focus on infrastructure and amenities rather than pursuing division bifurcation and coach factories. Associations, including Divisional Railway Users' Consultative Committee and Thrissur Railway Passengers Association, have sent requests to the Centre, Railways and state to introduce automatic signalling system and lay two additional tracks exclusively for the suburban service from Mangalore to Nagercoil. (Times of India dt 22-1-2013)

80 more trains to be speeded up

Enthused by the results of speeding up of 84 trains by five minutes to an hour, Railways have now decided to reduce the running time of 80 more trains plying through the State by 10 minutes to more than 30 minutes. Commuters can look forward to speedier travel with the Railways commencing the ground work to reduce the running time of trains and operate more trains in the coming months. A two-pronged action plan has been worked out to increase the sectional and loop line speeds already. For this, Railways will increase the speed of these trains, mostly express services, to the permissible maximum speed of 110 km an hour (kmph). “The trains will be speeded up from the 50-100 kmph range to 90-110 kmph. This will reflect in the Railway timetable that will come into effect from July,” Divisional Railway Manager Rajesh Agrawal told The Hindu . The speeding of 84 trains had come in handy for the Railways, which was finding it difficult to introduce the newly sanctioned trains. The Railways will also have to go in for sequencing and scheduling of trains, monitoring of trains at coaching depots and stations, and revise the guidelines among other things for reducing the running time of the trains. The speeding up of the new 80 trains will be done without affecting the timings of the trains. The aim is to run trains from Thiruvananthapuran Central to Ernakulam in two-and-a-half hours to three hours and from Thiruvananthapuram Central to Kozhikode in five-and-a-half hours, he said. As per the action plan, the speed of trains on the Shoranur-Ernakulam section will be increased from 80 kmph to 90 kmph, from 80 kmph to 100 kmph on the Ernakulam-Alappuzha-Kayamkulam sector and from 90 kmph to 100 kmph on the Munroethurthu-Kayamkulam section. On the Kayamkulam-Thiruvananthapuram Central stretch, the speed will be increased from the existing 100 kmph to 110 kmph. The speed of trains will go up from 80 kmph to 100 kmph on the Thiruvananthapuram-Nagercoil section and from 90 kmph to 110 kmph on the Nagercoil-Tirunelveli stretch. The trains will run at a speed of 90 kmph on the Nagercoil-Kanyakumari section (existing 75 kmph), 90 kmph on the Thrissur-Guruvayur (existing 50 kmph) and 100 kmph in the Haripad-Kayamkulam section (existing 70 kmph). On the Ernakulam-Munroethurthu and Kayamkulam-Mavelikara sections, the speed will be increased from 70 kmph to 100 kmph. Trains will run at 100 kmph on the Chengannur-Mavelikara section (existing 80 kmph) once the bottlenecks are cleared. The proposal to limit the number of stops for the superfast trains to six on the Thiruvananthapuram-Shornur stretch remains on paper. (S. Anil Radhakrishnan,The Hindu dt 21-1-2013)

Tri-weekly Kochuveli-B’lore train to run daily from March

Thiruvananthapuram: The tri-weekly Kochuveli-Bangalore Express will be made a daily service in March. Railway sources confirmed that an order would be issued in this regard and the service included in the railway time table soon. However, there could be change in its timings. “We had sought a status quo on timings or make it a 12-hour journey from Kochuveli at 8 pm but they could be delayed by a couple of hours owing to the heavy rush at Bangalore Central in the morning hours and the high traffic on the route,” said atop official from the Thiruvananthapuram division. The train leaves Kochuveli at 4.05 pm on Sundays, Mondays and Fridays now and reaches Bangalore at 8.35 am the next day. There are apprehensions that it will be allowed to enter the Bangalore Central station only after 10.30 am. “The Bangalore division authorities are unwilling to advance the timing. Only a political intervention can ensure a 12-hour journey reaching Bangalore before 8 am,” said the officer. Railway authorities had completed all formalities for the daily service announced in budget last year but they decided to continue the tri-weekly service following protests by passengers. Rail users associations, meanwhile, warned of protests if the train timings were revised in a way that it enters Bangalore only after 10 am. “There will be no benefit to passengers if the train reaches Bangalore after 10 am. Such timings will force the passengers to depend on private interstate bus operators,” Thrissur railway passengers association P Krishnakumar said. (Times of India dt 18-1-2013)

Trains to run faster in State

Not withstanding the proposed Thiruvananthapuram-Mangalore high-speed rail corridor (HSRC) where trains are expected to run at 300 km per hour (kmph) speed, the Railways are gearing up to run trains at over 110 kmph speed in the Thiruvananthapuram division which has a 320-km-long rail route. Thiruvanathapuram Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Rajesh Agarwal said the division was chalking out plans to increase the average speed of trains so that they could attain speeds of up to 200 kmph within a few years. “The present speed in Kerala is in the range of 50 to 100 kmph and this must change. An action plan has been chalked out to remedy matters and bottlenecks are being overcome. Last year, 84 trains saw a fall in travel time by 10 to 90 minutes in the division, despite the introduction of 11 new trains. Another 100 trains will be considerably speeded up likewise, this year.” Their speed could be further increased if the State government took a call on reducing the number of stops for long-distance trains, Mr Agarwal said. He called upon stakeholders to stop blaming the Southern Railway head office in Chennai and the Delhi headquarters for the slow pace of railway development in Kerala. “Phenomenal improvements can be made if work within the division is organised in a better manner,” he said. To a question on the feasibility of the Rs.1.20-lakh crore HSRC, he said the Railways are not associated with the work. “It is an alternative mode of transport that is expected to take a few years to be commissioned. It needs passenger patronage in millions such as in France and Japan to become remunerative,” he said. Mr. Agarwal said the speed of trains, including the Rajadhani Express, considerably decreased as they entered Kerala. Each stop for express trains should be at least 60 km apart. The resultant increase in speed of trains would increase the capacity of railway lines to accommodate more trains, he said. (The Hindu dt 13-1-2013)

Railways promises to get its act together

Having suffered a severe dent in its image following an acute shortfall of coaches and a spate of accidents involving ill-maintained coaches in Kerala, the railways has grown wiser. The coach position is getting back to normal and steps have been taken to ensure their upkeep, Thiruvanathapuram Divisional Railway Manager Rajesh Agarwal assured. “The Thiruvananthapuram Division is not an outhouse of other divisions (in Southern Railway). We must get back each coach that is sent to Chennai for periodic repairs,” he said. He was responding to questions from reporters here about reports that about 25 per cent of the coaches sent for repairs from Kerala were diverted to places in Tamil Nadu, causing acute coach shortage in the State. On passengers being forced to travel in inferior coaches because of the shortage of AC coaches, Mr Agarwal said this mismatch was being addressed. The Ernakulam Area Manager of Southern Railway P L Ashok Kumar had said all trains were plying with the sanctioned number of coaches since Tuesday. “Steps are being taken so that shortage of coaches can be anticipated well in advance. We also need coaches to step up the existing coach composition in trains. More coaches can be added to trains that travel with 18 coaches, so that more passengers can be accommodated in them,” Mr Agarwal said, at a press conference here. (The Hindu dt 12-1-2013)

Railways to focus on doubling works

Railways will give priority to complete the doubling works from Ernakulam to Kayamkulam via Alappuzha and Kottayam and consolidate ongoing projects for providing better service to commuters. At a press conference here on Thursday, Divisional Railway Manager Rajesh Agrawal said 13 km from Kayamkulam to Haripad and 12 km from Mavelikkara to Chengannur had been doubled last year and the aim was to complete the remaining works on the Ernakulam-Kayamkulam section in two years. The speed of trains operating in the division had been enhanced from the range of 50-100 km an hour to 90-110 km. Three more intermediate block sections would be commissioned in the next three months. “The speeding up of 84 trains has resulted in a quantum improvement in the division as it is riddled with curves and gradients. With this, we have increased the capacity and were able to commence 11 pairs of trains sanctioned in the budget,” he said. Mr. Agrawal, who was accompanied by Additional Divisional Manager V. Rajeevan and senior officials, said the work to upgrade Thiruvananthapuram Central Station to a world class station had commenced and a blueprint of the improvements chalked out for the Ernakulam and Thrissur stations had been released. Replying to queries on the condition of coaches, Mr. Agrawal said it had been taken up with those concerned and 70 to 80 per cent of the issue had been sorted out. “Physically, we have the coaches. Here is mismatch and we will address it. The augmentation of the coaches is the real challenge,” he added. Listing out the initiatives taken up in the division during 2012, Mr. Agrawal said efforts had been taken to remove the bottlenecks in infrastructure with the support of all wings in Railways. Ladies coach On shifting the ladies coach to the middle of the rake, Mr. Agrawal said Railways would implement it in passenger trains soon. In mail and express long-distance trains, a policy decision had to be taken. “Still, I am of the opinion that the ladies coach should be in the rear end of the rake as reliable assistance from the guard and the police is easy to reach there,” he added. (The Hindu dt 11-1-2013)

Commuters from State to bear the brunt

Commuters will have to pay Rs.124 to Rs. 406 more for travelling between New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram on mail/ express, Rajdhani and mixed Duronto trains from January 21 when new rail fares come into effect. As per the hike in fares announced by Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Banswal, the second class fare in mail/ express trains in the 3,062-km Thiruvananthapuram-New Delhi sector will go up from Rs.321 to Rs.445 and the sleeper class fare from Rs.559 to Rs.745. The air-conditioned three-tier fare will go up from Rs.1,573 to Rs.1,885, air-conditioned two-tier from Rs.2,646 to Rs.2,835 and air-conditioned first class from Rs.4,642 to Rs.4,955. In the case of Rajdhani Express, the fare in the New Delhi- Ernakulam sector will go up from Rs.5,193 to Rs.5,599 for an air-conditioned first class ticket. For an air-conditioned two-tier ticket, the hike will be Rs.267 as the new fare is Rs. 3,228. The fare for an air-conditioned three-tier ticket has been hiked from Rs.1,804 to Rs.2,156 with the variation being Rs.352. The new fare for an air-conditioned first class ticket in the mixed Duronto train on the New Delhi-Ernakulam sector will be Rs.5,263 (variation Rs.304), Rs.3,119 for air-conditioned two-tier ticket, and Rs.2,066 for air-conditioned three-tier ticket. The sleeper class fare has gone up from Rs.627 to Rs. 817. Keralites employed in metros and other cities will face the impact the most as the fare hike is for per km travelled. The migrant labour population from West Bengal and the North-East will also be affected. General secretary of the Railway Passenger Association, Thrissur, P. Krishnakumar said the decision to hike the fares though a delayed one was inevitable taking into account the financial situation of Railways. “The train fares are cheap compared to bus fares in the State. They should have done it earlier rather than waiting for a decade. The ground has been set for the tariff regulatory authority to act and fix the rail fares,” he said. Former Chairman of the Railway Board M.N. Prasad told The Hindu that Railways had to maintain financial viability . Railways no more had the liberty to incur loss and the time had come for them to plough in more money, he added. Describing the hike inevitable, a top rail official said it would have a cascading effect. It had come when the passenger segment loss was projected to touch Rs.25,000 crore in the current fiscal and when attempts were on to overcome funds crunch that had threatened modernisation and expansion. (The Hindu dt 10-1-2013)

Wheelchair & Chairs

(Madhyamam dt 7-1-2013)

(Mangalam dt 7-1-2013)

(Mathrubhumi dt 7-1-2013)

(Malayala Manorama dt 7-1-2013)

(Thrissivaperoor Express dt 8-1-2013)

Detention of 56371 Passenger

(Malayala Manorama dt 5-1-2012)

(Mathrubhumi dt 5-1-2012)

(Madhyamam dt 5-1-2013)

Automatic Ticket Vending Machines

(Mathrubhumi dt 3-1-2013)

(Madhyamam dt 3-1-2013)