A senior security official has claimed that the Maoists had carefully planned the detention of the New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express and the five-hour hostage crisis on Tuesday.
The 81-year-old Tunda, a close aide of wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, was accused of carrying out blasts in five trains in different cities in December 1993 to mark the first anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition.
Introduction of new trains including a Jan Sadharan Express - the common man's version of Rajdhani Express, and announcement of fresh gauge conversion projects are expected in the interim Rail Budget to be presented in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
Passengers have to specifically opt out from the mandatory food option and catering charges will be excluded from the ticket fare
India's premium trains -- Rajdhani Express and Shatabdi Express -- are all set to sport a designer look with the Railways assuring plush comforts to woo back its high-end clientele from the low-budget airlines. Passengers will be offered new upholstery, better interiors, squeaky clean bedrolls, well-maintained toilets, improved ventilation and better illumination. The Railways would also use polyurethane paint to enhance the quality of rakes & reduce the cost of re-painting.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said the New Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express and passengers on board were safe and that the Centre has rushed a relief train to bring back the passengers.
A stampede-like situation at New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday evening left at least 15 people injured, and fatalities are feared. The incident occurred due to overcrowding on platforms 14 and 15, triggered by a rush of passengers heading to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh. Eyewitnesses described a chaotic scene with passengers fainting from suffocation and a scramble for space. Authorities are investigating the incident, with initial reports suggesting overcrowding due to the influx of passengers for the religious festival. Rescue teams and fire tenders were dispatched to the scene, and the injured were taken to hospitals for treatment.
Several trains, including three Rajdhani Express trains, have been stranded at various places following blockade put up at Parsabad railway station in Koderma district by a Bharatiya Janata Party member of Legislative Assembly and his supporters.
A Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express, which left from Mumbai, caught fire on Thursday evening near Ankleshwar in Gujarat. The fire has been raging in the B3 coach over the last one hour and efforts are on to bring it under control.
The First Information Report that was filed against the hijackers of the Rajdhani Express doesn't mention the role played by the Maoists or the armed wing of the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities, both of which claimed responsibility for the incident.The FIR filed by railway authorities in West Midnapore's Rajdhani hostage case is being seen as a move to shield the Maoists. The FIR was lodged with the Jhargram Government Railway Police.
A suspected Maoist was arrested and six others were detained for interrogation in connection with blast by ultras leading to the derailment of Bhubaneshwar-New Delhi Rajdhani express near Gaya Railway station. Deputy Inspector General (Magadh range) Anupama Nilekar told PTI that the suspect, Badri Yadav, was arrested from Paraiya police station area in Gaya district.
Bodies of the victims, all passengers of the autorickshaw, lay scattered on both sides of the tracks as the train went ahead and stopped only at Katihar railway station
At least eleven bogies of a Rajdhani Express train bound for Ahmedabad derailed between Sirohi and Banas stations in Rajasthan near the border with Gujarat on Thursday morning, the police said.
Fourteen bogies of New Delhi-Diburgarh Rajdhani Express derailed near Naugachia railways station in Bihar's Bhagalpur district on Tuesday morning.
The passengers will be able to register by providing the PNR and other details such as mobile phone number.
A newly-raised armed wing of tribal agitators, aided by Maoists, were responsible for the seven-and-a-half half hour hijack drama of the Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express in a jungle area of West Midnapore district of West Bengal.
The death toll in the overnight stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station climbed to 18 on Sunday, with a senior railway official saying the incident occurred after some passengers slipped and fell on others while coming down from a footover bridge.
Singh, along with his wife and two children were in B-7 coach, one of the coaches of the Mumbai-Delhi train which were gutted between Alot and Thuriya stations in Ratlam district, scampered out of the burning bogey in the dead of the night.
Passengers of Mumbai Rajdhani will get SMS alerts before arrival of their destinations during night hours with the railways launching the service on Wednesday.
The losses ranged between Rs 33,204 and Rs 10,90,480.
5,012 rounds of ammunition were found stashed in five abandoned suitcases in the AS-8 coach of the Dibrugarh-Delhi Rajdhani Express.
The 23-coach 12506 North East Express had departed the Anand Vihar terminal in Delhi at 7:40 am on Wednesday for its nearly 33-hour journey to Kamakhya, about six kilometres away from Guwahati.
At 4 am, troops roared their war cry! In the long running tradition of the armed forces, soldiers seek the blessings of the Goddess before setting out on their mission -- in war or peace. The Republic Day parade is one such mission.
Former Union railway minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, on Sunday, said that the Railway's mismanagement led to the stampede at the New Delhi railway station.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday requested his Bihar counterpart to provide free medical treatment to the injured passengers of New Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express that derailed at Chapra in Bihar.
Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railway, Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay on Sunday said that a passenger coming towards platforms 14-15 slipped and fell on the stairs, and many passengers standing behind him were hit, leading to the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station.
Sources at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narain Hospital indicated that a majority of the victims who sustained injuries in Saturday night stampede suffered lower limb injuries while others suffered from bone injuries.
Recounting the fear and shock following the derailment of the Rajdhani Express, passengers of the New Delhi-Dibrugarh train on Wednesday said it was a "night to forget".
Helpline phone numbers have been activated: Dimapur 03862-228404, Lumding 03674-264848/49/50 and Guwahati 0361-2731621/22/23
The agency officials said they are studying the judgment and an appeal would soon be filed in the Supreme Court.
Odisha train crash is one of the deadliest such accidents since independence.
The system is available for online ticketing now but it will be extended to over the counter sale also as the required software is being readied for the purpose.
India's tennis legend Leander Paes is gearing up for a new challenge in life as he gets set for his debut in Bollywood with his movie Rajdhani Express.
According to railway officials, an argument broke out between Bore and Sonu over ticket. In a fit of anger, Bore allegedly pushed the army man out and he fell under the train.
The Northern Railways on Thursday cancelled a slew of Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto Express', stating low patronisation and rising coronavirus cases as the reason behind the decision.
The protest started at 6 am on Tuesday with the blockade of the old National Highway 6, which connects Kolkata to Mumbai, at Khemasuli in Kharagpur Local police station area by Kudmi Samaj West Bengal, they said.
The 17-year old girl travelling with her uncle in a three-tier AC compartment raised an alarm at 4 am when the armyman was making an attempt to molest her as the Rajdhani Express was passing between Lumding and Chaparmukh stations, a NF Railway spokesman said.
Rejecting the demands for withdrawal of security forces and release of prisoners by Maoist-backed tribal agitators, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee on Tuesday night said the police have been asked to move to the detained Rajdhani Express to rescue the passengers."We can't just accept such demands like withdrawal of security forces and release of some prisoners," the chief minister told a press conference in Kolkata.
Passengers, who were traveling by the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express which was held up by Maoist-backed agitators for over five hours on Tuesday in West Midnapore in West Bengal, on Wednesday voiced their apprehensions over the lack of security measures in passenger trains."There was no security arrangement in the train. No security personnel of the police department or the railway police force were there," said one passenger.
An inquiry by the safety commissioner has been ordered. Anusha Soni reports
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