More than 4,300 employees of the Railways have come under the scanner of its own vigilance department for their alleged involvement in corrupt practices.
The total earnings of Railways during April to November this year were Rs 78,868.17 crore compared to Rs 66,150.48 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 19.23 per cent.
Getting into the groove, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Tuesday got a detailed presentation of the functioning and various aspects of the national transporter including its financial health.
Railways on Wednesday ordered an inquiry into the train accident at Sitheri in Tamil Nadu, which has left ten persons dead.
Railways has pledged Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) for the Games and a memorandum of understanding is expected to be signed between the public sector unit behemoth and the organising committee shortly.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Jaya Varma Sinha, member of operation and business development, Railway Board said, "According to the preliminary findings, there has been some issue with the signalling. We are still waiting for the detailed report from the Commissioner of Railway Safety. Only Coromandel Express met with an accident. The train was at a speed of around 128 km/h."
A maximum of over 2,200 infections were reported by the South Central Railway, followed by 1,323 cases in the Central Railway, 1,307 in the Northern Railway, 1,145 in the Southern Railway and 1,013 cases in the East Central Railway.
Heavy security has been deployed at vital installations in Delhi, including government buildings and areas with high footfalls, following Pakistan's drone attacks on Indian military sites. Police have strengthened vigil in areas with high footfalls and have canceled leaves for all Delhi Police personnel. The developments come after India swiftly thwarted Pakistan's attempts to strike military sites with drones and missiles.
An effort is on to change the fortunes of the country's largest transport network. But it's a long journey ahead.
Congress, which is an ally of the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, on Monday questioned the recurrence of train accidents and said the railway ministry was not safe in the hands of state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's party.
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.
The Railway ministry has been allocated budgetary support of Rs 140367.13 crore in the Union Budget on Tuesday - Rs 20,311 crore more than the revised figures of the previous fiscal. Overall, the national transporter is set to get a capital expenditure (CapEx) push of Rs 2.45 lakh crore in the financial year 2022-23, 14 per cent higher than the budgeted capital expenditure of Rs 2.15 lakh crore for the current financial year. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech for 2022-23 said that India will manufacture 400 new, energy-efficient Vande Bharat trains in the next three years.
India conducted nationwide civil defence mock drills simulating multiple hostile scenarios like air raids, fire emergencies, and rescue operations across several states and union territories. The drills, dubbed 'Operation Abhyaas,' aimed to enhance emergency preparedness in light of recent terror attacks. The exercises involved coordinated efforts by various agencies, including civil defence personnel, police, fire and emergency services, and the military. Mock drills were conducted at various locations, including railway stations, malls, and high-rise buildings, showcasing the response capabilities of authorities in different emergency scenarios. The drills highlighted the importance of public awareness and cooperation in dealing with real-time emergencies.
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.
Railway officials also indicated that possible 'sabotage' and tampering with the electronic interlocking system, which detects the presence of trains, led to the Friday accident.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee would resign as Railway Minister on Thursday, a day ahead of being sworn in as West Bengal Chief Minister.
'We carry 6.5 billion passengers every year. We have crossed seven billion this year, and are targeting 10 billion by 2030.'
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 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.
Roads, railways, and coal together are likely to account for 70 per cent of the government's takings from the upcoming second edition of the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), set to run from FY26 to FY30. In comparison, these three sectors are estimated to have contributed 66 per cent in the first edition of the NMP - FY22 to FY25.
The new Vande Bharat Express train is specially designed to operate seamlessly in Jammu & Kashmir's challenging winter conditions for the upcoming Katra-Srinagar rail route.
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.
On this day 167 years ago, the wheels of the first passenger train in the country from Mumbai to Thane started rolling.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
'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.'
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.
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.
