It was a tumultuous year for the railways as a cash-strapped ministry saw four ministers in quick succession, resulting in indecision and delay in policy making process.
The total earnings during April-August this year were Rs 48,635.19 crore (Rs 486.35 billion) as against the target of Rs 49,994.28 crore (Rs 499.94 billion), falling short of Rs 1359.09 crore (Rs 13.59 billion), according Railway Ministry data.
A state-of-art computerised system is being deployed by Railways across all crew booking lobbies of both drivers and guards for efficient train operations and safer journey.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee would resign as Railway Minister on Thursday, a day ahead of being sworn in as West Bengal Chief Minister.
In its forthcoming Budget, Railways also propose to launch more passenger services and speed up existing trains.
Bihar's grand alliance has complained to the Election Commission about Bharatiya Janata Party workers from the state allegedly being taken to saffron party-ruled states for "training" by special trains at concessional rates in violation of the norms and demanded action under the anti-graft law.
Railways have no plans as yet to increase freight charges despite the steep hike in diesel prices which have put an additional burden of over Rs 1200 crore (Rs 12 billion) on it.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved seven multi-tracking projects of Indian Railways at an estimated cost of around Rs 32,500 crore, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The proposed projects, which will be fully funded by the Centre, will help increase the existing line capacity, smoothen train operations, reduce congestion and facilitate ease of travelling and transportation. The projects covering 35 districts in nine states -- Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal -- will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by 2,339 km and provide employment of an estimated 7.06 crore man-days to the people of the states.
The Union Home Ministry has asked several states to conduct mock drills on May 7 amid rising tensions with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack. The drills will include operationalising air raid warning sirens, training civilians on civil defence, and rehearsing evacuation plans. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been holding high-level meetings as India considers countermeasures against the April 22 attack that killed 26 civilians.
The rising steel prices have adversely affected many ongoing railway projects across the country. "We have revised the price variation clause for all our future projects so that work does not suffer due to abrupt market fluctuation," said a senior railway ministry official.
On this day 167 years ago, the wheels of the first passenger train in the country from Mumbai to Thane started rolling.
As Indian Railways looks to avert the crisis like last summer, preparations are under way to stock up coal at thermal power plants. Much like February and March, thermal coal movement in April was 5 per cent higher than the previous year, data from the Ministry of Railways shows. While India prepares for a hot summer this year, 48.23 million tonnes (mt) of coal for thermal power plants was ferried by Indian Railways in April. The national transporter also moved about 500,000 tonnes--18.4 per cent-- more imported coal for power plants this April than it had done last year.
A scam had come to light in two lesser-known services-- Railway Board Secretariat Service and Railway Board Secretariat Clerical Service -- where promotions were being made allegedly without following due procedures and bypassing Union Cabinet's jurisdiction.
The amount is from a total of Rs 19,000 crore (Rs 190 billion) granted by the Railway ministry to Southern Railway for various works like gauge conversion and construction of railway stations.
'Imagine what will happen when a train running at 128 kmph moves onto a track that is meant to have only a speed less than 30 kmph!' 'Naturally, it will derail, and the coaches will go for a tailspin.'
The railways' first such COVID-19 care centre was deployed at Shakur Basti railway stations in Delhi on May 31. It consisted of 10 coaches with a capacity of 160 beds. The coaches can be used for very mild cases that can be clinically assigned to the coronavirus care centres according to guidelines issued by the health ministry.
The Indian Railways has decided to introduce a mobile radio communication facility in its trains to ensure security.
Out of the total of 25,359 complaints received during 2010, the highest of 8,330 were against Railways, 6,520 against banks, 1,836 against petroleum department and 1,572 were against telecom officials.
Every wheelchair at the Armed Forces' Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre in Pune is a story of sacrifice and strength, of courage, resilience and unbreakable spirit.
While a total of 22 stations have been identified to be developed as world class, six stations have been chosen to be taken up in the first phase, a senior railway ministry official said.
Opposition parties on Monday blamed the Railways and the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh for the "avoidable" stampede during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad that left 36 people dead and demanded a judicial probe into the incident.
The railways heritage lines that are part of the UNESCO-accorded sites list include Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, and Kalka Shimla Railway.
A multi-agency team has gone to the US and all paperwork and legal issues are being completed with US authorities to bring him to India, they said.
Former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad on Wednesday said the railway budget will make it clear if the performance of the PSU during his tenure was better than what it is at present.
According to the guidelines approved by the government, 100 per cent FDI can be utilised in facilities like cleaning up trains and installation of bio-toilets in passenger coaches and setting up of mechanised laundry services.
Cyber cafes will be opened at 50 railway stations during the current financial year by RailTel, a company under the Railway Ministry, which has made considerable progress in creating nationwide state-of-the-art telecom infrastructure.
There were total 23,507 complaints registered by common rail users against the Railways in 2006-07, which is seven per cent more than the previous year.
How to conduct the mock exercise with active public participation of people was discussed threadbare at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan. Top civil and police officers of the country participated in the meeting, official sources said.
Although the CPI-M has emphasised that the railway panel's post is its top choice, Congress floor managers have already conveyed to the comrades that 'it will be difficult' to fulfil their dreams. The CPI-M is likely to get the chairman's seat in the Standing Committee on coal and steel or energy.
It suffered losses mainly due to passenger ticket refunds and disruptions in freight services besides damage to railway tracks, a senior railways ministry official said. While Delhi-Mumbai trunk route was the worst affected, Northern Railway and Western Railway suffered maximum losses due to the Gujjar agitation on Scheduled Tribe status, Railway statistics over the past 20 days indicate.
Nearly a 100 members participated in the debate which began Thursday afternoon and concluded at 11.58 pm.
Auxiliary warning system, cab-signalling device, centralised traffic control system are some of the state-of-the-art measures that are being considered to enhance safety measures in India
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched this public friendly facility on Thursday at a programme in Kolkata.
Faced with revenue shortfall, Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge is likely to refrain from announcing many populist measures in the interim budget on February 12.
The gross traffic receipts of the railways are estimated at Rs 90,626 crore (Rs 906.26 billion) in 2009-10, against 84,233 crore (Rs 842.33 billion) garnered in the last financial year.
The railways ministry has a capex target of Rs 1 lakh crore for the financial year.
The decision, if materialises, could be yet another setback for IRCTC, thanks to the new catering policy unveiled recently which stripped the Railway public sector unit of its catering responsibility that formed its core business.
'The rail network all across the state of Punjab is presently totally clear for uninterrupted movement of goods trains,' a home department statement said in Chandigarh. However, hours after the Punjab government's statement, the Railways accused it of 'misguiding' people over the extent of blockade of rail tracks in the state by the protesting farmers.
