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Many of the PPPs have not evinced interest, Prabhu said.
Service tax waived for online train ticket booking till Dec 31
The ministry of railways has projected a three-time increase in Plan size to Rs 7,19,677 crore (Rs 7,196.77 billion) for the five-year period.
It was only a fortnight earlier that the Cabinet, in a press release, named five short-listed bidders for two projects to be implemented in Bihar. The railway ministry had proposed to set up joint venture companies to develop the factories, with an equity stake of 26 per cent in these.
'Making the railways better is a different type of a challenge.'
According to a privilege extended to lawmakers by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, MPs can now sponsor the construction of the railway stations from his/her annual budget of Rs 5 crore and etch his name for perpetuity on a steel or metal plaque.
To begin with, the service will be available in 30 places across the country. The postal department would issue railway tickets through the computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters provided by the railway ministry.
Senior citizens, differently-abled, pregnant women and medically sick travellers will be given a preference
According to the latest Budget papers, the staff strength of central ministries and departments is estimated to rise by 276,796 to 3.44 million at the end of FY23, it would be up by 109,266 to 3.55 million in March 2024.
The FoBs were constructed by the Army Engineers in a record 117 days.
Railtel has entered into an agreement with US-based Pronto Services, which will create facilities at 50 railway stations through Wi-Max technology.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad is expected to announce a slew of initiatives for select Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains in the coming rail budget, including access to on-board free Internet and Direct-to-Home (DTH) services.
As per existing provisions, senior citizens aged 60 years and above are eligible for concession in the basic fares of Mail and Express trains, and all inclusive fares of Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Jan Shatabdi trains.
The losses ranged between Rs 33,204 and Rs 10,90,480.
The restriction has been imposed to prevent touts from cornering tickets.
The railway ministry has decided to sell a 20 per cent stake in RITES Ltd, an undertaking of the ministry which, among other activities, operates railway networks in some African countries, in an initial public offer.
Fares of AC First Class, Executive Class, AC-2 tier, AC-3 tier, AC Chair Car will go up by 3.708 per cent from October 1 and a notification to this effect will be issued on Thursday, a senior Railway Ministry official said.
In the wake of the growing funding constraint for additional infrastructure creation in the railway sector, Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday held discussions with the industry on options to make private participation in the sector attractive. "Addressing the coordination gaps between the rail ministry and the industry is important to increase investments in rail projects. This is very urgent," Banerjee said.
The three-day India Mobile Congress (IMC) will showcase the widening convergence of telecom with new domains, such as semiconductors and deep tech, P Ramakrishna, the forum's chief executive officer, said on Tuesday. With more than 250 global and domestic exhibitors, the seventh edition is expected to draw more than 100,000 visitors this year, he said. There will also be over 5,000 CXO-level delegates and more than 350 speakers.
Incessant rains apparently caused cracks in the bridge, resulting in its collapse, an official said.
Sudheendhra Kulkarni, former political aide to senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani, has joined a key committee of the Railway Ministry. Kulkarni, who dissociated himself from the BJP on Saturday citing ideological differences, on Wednesday, said that he had joined a committee appointed by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The accident occurred around 5.45 pm near Khatauli town, 40 km off Muzaffarnagar, leaving 23 people dead, the Uttar Pradesh police said.
Rlys plan 50 garib raths, 450 AC trains; SPVs planned for wagon manufacture for freight corridors.
Indian Railways (IR) will transfer existing assets at nominal values, invite bids and grant concessions for 10-15 years.
Minister of State for Railways, Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy, on Friday resigned from his post in protest against the Union Cabinet's decision to go ahead with the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
This is expected to cut last-minute rush for reservations.
Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti and a former general manager of the Railways have also been named as accused in the chargesheet filed before a special CBI court recently, they said.
'To avoid accountability and cover the mismanagement of the head of the department, they create this kind of sabotage theory.' 'If it's a sabotage theory, then the higher-level officials can go scot-free.'
Rs 25 per bedroll kit will be collected as part of the fare at the time of issuance of ticket from the passengers, if they opt for bedroll.
The high-speed free Wi-Fi internet facility is now available at 6,100 railway stations across the country, RailTel said on Tuesday. "The milestone of 6,100 stations with Wi-Fi coverage was reached today (Tuesday) with the commissioning of Wi-Fi facility at Ubarni railway station (Rae Bareli district, UP) in Lucknow Division of Northern Railway," the statement by RailTel noted.
Although the BJP has never been ballistic about the BJD and Narendra Modi has avoided being critical of Naveen Patnaik, the BJP is optimistic that the party can improve its electoral fortunes in Odisha on its own, notes Rup Narayan Das.
West Bengal Director General of Police Bhupinder Singh said the police had found Pandrol clips (which tie the tracks) open along a 50-metre stretch at the accident spot and the blast theory was yet to be confirmed.
Not only the new-look coaches will carry more passengers with more comfort, plans are also underway with railway ministry revamping catering and other facilities on trains and stations to make them more tourist-friendly.
The Japanese and the French are the world leaders in high-speed train technology. While the Japanese are known for their superfast Bullet train, the French have high-speed trains under the TGV brand.
The two countries sealed 10 agreements, including the much-publicised transit trade treaty which will end Nepal's total dependency on Indian sea ports for third-country trade.
In an effort to run air-conditioned suburban train services in Mumbai, the Railways have awarded the contract to a French company Systra and RITES for conducting the feasibility study of the project.
The two countries are contemplating introducing an Advance Information Passenger Information System wherein both sides exchange information on details of passengers travelling on these trains, Railway Ministry sources said.
Northern Railway has taken several measures for the people stranded in flood-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir, like running special trains from Katra, Udhampur and Jammu to different parts of the country and attaching extra coaches to regular services.
Officials say funds and land likely to be tied up by the end of this year.
