At present, the second AC coaches in Rajdhani trains have 55 berths, while there are 72 in third AC coaches.
Amid concerns over increasing number of train accidents, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has sought a detailed safety plan from the railways.
On these routes, the train speed would also be increased to above 160 kmph over the next four or five years by revamping the entire signaling, tracks and fencing.
Railways on Wednesday ordered an inquiry into the train accident at Sitheri in Tamil Nadu, which has left ten persons dead.
The film will be directed by Sam Mendes and released on November 9, 2012.
The next Rail Budget to be presented early next year could contain a proposal for raising fares to pass on the burden of rising power cost to passengers.
The CVC is awaiting sanction to prosecute nine employees of PNB and 2 other banks who were booked by the CBI for their alleged involvement in corruption.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rajnath Singh on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the wake of Kalka Mail accident which killed 69 persons and left 249 injured.
"BJP expresses concern over the state of affairs in the Railway Ministry. It has become a victim of coalition politics in both UPA-I and UPA-II. The ministry has become an orphan and is surviving without any protection or guidance," BJP spokesperson Jagat Prakash Nadda said.
The much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle due on Monday has been postponed, ostensibly after the Kalka Mail and Guwahati-Puri Express derailed on the same day, claiming more than 30 lives. The Congress is anxious about not sending a wrong signal in Uttar Pradesh, which is going to polls next year. Government sources said that as the prime minister was also in charge of the railway ministry, he was too busy overseeing relief to this crucial state.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched this public friendly facility on Thursday at a programme in Kolkata.
Aiming at connecting Patna with high speed train, the Railways will undertake a pre-feasibility study of Delhi-Patna rail route, which would be conducted by a British firm.
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.
With Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee's landslide victory in West Bengal, the Union railways ministry is set to have a new minister soon and a revamped board.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee would resign as Railway Minister on Thursday, a day ahead of being sworn in as West Bengal Chief Minister.
Passengers of Mumbai Rajdhani will get SMS alerts before arrival of their destinations during night hours with the railways launching the service on Wednesday.
Union Minister of State for Health Dinesh Trivedi has blamed bureaucratic hurdles within his own ministry for the delay in fulfilling the railway ministry's ambitious plan to set up healthcare facilities along the rail network across the country.
The platform ticket price was revised from Rs 5 to Rs 10 in April this year.
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 Railways has decided to install nearly 900 automatic ticket vending machines at stations across the country for the convenience of daily commuters and reduce queues at counters during rush hours.
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.
In an interview with rediff.com's Anisha Ralhan, M G Arora, former executive director of safety, Indian Railways, explains how lobbyists and deflectors operating at different levels have corroded the lifeline of the nation.
The Commonwealth Express comprising 11 coaches will leave for Amritsar to coincide with the arrival of Queen's Baton in the country from Pakistan on June 25.
Bids for the proposed Rs 1,290-crore (Rs 12.9 billion) Madhepura electric locomotive factory in Bihar will be opened next week, say railway ministry officials.
The railways heritage lines that are part of the UNESCO-accorded sites list include Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, and Kalka Shimla Railway.
Among the proposals considered today includes a project to construct a railway link between Rohanpur and Singhabad to facilitate transit traffic from Bangladesh to Nepal through India. Railway ministry sources indicated that the ministry had no objections to opening the additional transit route to Bangladesh.
The first of such trains are expected to be introduced in Eastern Railway between Howrah and Dhanbad by Christmas.
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.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday described the railway budget as 'disappointing' and said the ministry's attempt to attract private firms to fund the rail projects is like 'chasing a dream'.
Consumers and businesses can tweet to communications minister Manoj Sinha (@manojsinhabjp) using #DOTSeva, #BSNLSeva, #MTNLSeva, and #PostalSeva.
Asked to share details of income from all its 16 zones, especially through tatkal, ticket cancellation and bed roll charges
Under the plan being worked out, the labour component of the railway projects, which include the expansion of train lines or conversion of line gauge, would be funded from NREGS, as most of these projects require a large labour force and generate employment opportunities in rural areas.
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.
Overall, the railways intend to build 66 MFCs at a cost of Rs 8 crore (Rs 80 million) each. MFCs would provide rail users with facilities like shopping, food stalls and restaurants, book stalls, telephone booths, medicine and variety stores, budget hotels and underground parking.
The railway ministry is planning to launch 15 more Duronto Expresses in the coming budget, as the end-to-end non-stop train has caught the fancy of passengers.
In its forthcoming Budget, Railways also propose to launch more passenger services and speed up existing trains.
Not keen to take any chances in the wake of the derailment of the Gyaneshwari Express on Friday, the railway ministry has decided to suspend the running of passenger trains for seven hours in the night in Naxal-affected areas, during the Black Week declared by the Left-wing extremists. The decision came after Maoists derailed the Howrah-Kurla Gyaneshwari Express in West Midnapore district of West Bengal in the wee hours of Friday, killing more than 100 people.
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.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday ordered an enquiry into the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station which claimed two lives and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.
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