Locomotive engine, compartment derail at Bengaluru railway station

BENGALURU: Days after Nanded express derailed near Penukonda after a granite truck rammed into, killing five including truck assistant, locomotive engine and a general compartment of Prashanti express, arriving to city from Guwahati derailed in platform 3 of City railway station on Friday noon.

Peacock `gatecrashes' train, two loco drivers injured

Two loco pilots of Mayiladuthurai-bound Jan Shatabdi Express were injured when a peacock smashed into the windshield of their cabin on Wednesday .The bird hit took place when the train was passing through Pasur near Karur.

Railway ministry announces inquiry

The Railway Ministry has ordered an inquiry into the Bangalore-Nanded Express train accident at a manned level crossing in Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh.Commissioner for Railway Safety, Southern Zone, will conduct the inquiry.

Mr PM railway safety your priority

With all the technological and innovative prowess India has, yet another tragic railway accident and the death of rail passengers erodes the faith of people in the country’s largest transport system, the Indian Railways.

Committee seeks special trains for festivals

The South Western Railway Passengers’ Welfare Committee has appealed to Railway Board Chairman A.K. Mittal to run some special festival trains to different destinations from the division.

The right Recipe for Indian Railways

Indian Railways has been analysed by expert groups and committees extensively and frequently. Two recent expert panels—led by Rakesh Mohan and Bibek Debroy—currently engage attention. Strangely, IR’s own record of any volitional reform initiatives has been lacklustre.

Station masters threaten to halt railway ops if demand not met

Haridwar: There is resentment brewing among station masters in the Indian Railways. This is due to non-fulfillment of some of their demands which they consider long overdue. Now, the All-India Station Masters Association's (AISMA) secretary-general V N Chaudhari has called upon them to gear up for chakka jam on November 23 if these demands are not fulfilled by September 2.

Bangalore-Nanded train accident: Trains cancelled, diverted

Several express and passenger trains were cancelled or diverted on account of the derailment of Train Number 16594 Bangalore City – Nanded Express while passing level crossing gate between Rangepalli and Penukonda Stations on Dharmavaram section of Bangalore Division of South Western Railway on Monday morning.

Karnataka MLA among 5 dead in Andhra Pradesh train accident

Five people including a Karnataka legislator were killed early on Monday morning when a granite-laden truck rammed into an express train at a level crossing in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur, the second fatal accident this month involving the railways.

Railways sinking like ICU patient’

Echoing one of his predecessors Dinesh Trivedi of the Trinamul Congress, Union railway minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu on Friday compared the Indian Railways’ present condition with that of a patient admitted in the ICU. He also ruled out the possibility of the Indian Railway beating the Chinese Railway overnight and called for investments for infrastructure development to match its pace.

Rail travel has got even more unsafe

NEW DELHI: Even as railways tries to get control over maintenance of law and order in trains and station premises from state government, the latest government data could bolster its case as it shows security for travelers getting worse over the years.

Don’t Destroy Indian Railways in the Name of Reforms

Basudeb Acharia, Vice President, CITU

Government of India under Prime Minister ship of Narendra Modi appointed a committee under the chairmanship of Bibek Debroy to recommend total privatization of Indian Railways. This committee has submitted its final report where various recommendations have been made for complete privatization of Indian railways.

Railway officer Ashwani Lohani to be next AI chief

NEW DELHI: It's official now. Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation MD Ashwani Lohani is set to be the next chief of Air India.

Breaking down the Silos in Railways needed to ease long-term goals: Bibek Debroy

There will be a probe and eventually there will be some answers. At the moment, thanks to the double derailment between stations of Khirkiya and Harda, everyone knows about Machak river. But I wish reportage had been better. It’s a distance of only 32 km. Surely, we can make up our minds about the river’s name. Is it Machak or Kalimachak? These two rivers are different.

IR needs to first focus on running its own trains efficiently before allowing private players

Private sector entry in Telecom & Civil Aviation has completely changed the Consumer Experience since last a decade, in India. However, the Bibek Debroy panel’s recommendation of allowing the private companies to run passenger trains can’t take off till Indian Railways puts its own house in order in terms of ensuring adequate infrastructure, facilities, management and safety

Bengaluru-Mysuru high-speed rail possible, says Sreedharan

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRCL) principal advisor E Sreedharan has said that a high-speed rail line is possible between Bengaluru and Mysuru.

Track doubling on Bangalore-Mysore section nearing completion

Bangalore: Railways plan to increase the speed of trains operating on the Mysuru-Bengaluru section due to the near completion of the track doubling work between the two cities.

Door almost shut on closed-door Mumbai locals

The plan to have Automatic Sliding Doors (ASD) on Mumbai Local Trainsas come a cropper. After almost two years of being in the incubation stage, officials have now admitted on record that the project has not moved an inch.

West Japan Railway installs new cameras to detect drunken passengers

Railway operator West Japan Railway has installed new automated security cameras at Kyobashi station in Osaka, in a bid to detect drunken passengers.

Sojourn in the train

PRIYAMVADA AVINASH

Salem Railway Division to set up more Solar Plants

The Salem Railway Division will set up 100 kw solar plants on the railway premises in different centres and the preliminary works have commenced, said Shubhranshu, Divisional Railway Manager, here on Saturday.

7th CPC WILL INCREASE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT PAY ONLY BY 15%. SHOULD WE ACCEPT?

R.ELANGOVAN, , WORKING PRESIDENT, DREU, elangovandreu@gmail.com

1. The Medium Term Expenditure Framework statement has not yet been uploaded in Finance Ministry’s website.However I have taken the figures provided by print media including The Hindu.As per their statement the expenditure on salaries will rise by 9.56% in the fiscal 2015-16 as a result of 7th CPC implementation over the normal estimated expenditure in the 2015-16 budget to Rs.100619 crores. This means that the expenditure projected was Rs.91,839cr which if increased by 9.56% becomesRs.100619 crores.

MEDIUM TERM EXPENDITURE FRAMEWORK STATEMENT OF FINANCE MINISTER ON 12-8-2015 AND THE REAL IMPACT ON PAY INCREASE

A Note by R.Elangovan, Working President, DREU

1.The medium term expenditure framework statement has not yet been up loaded in finance ministry’s website. However i have taken the figures provided by print media including the Hindu. As per their statement the expenditure on salaries will rise by 9.56% in the fiscal 2015-16 as a result of 7cpc implementation over the normal estimated expenditure in the 2015-16 budget to Rs 100619 crores. This means that the expenditure projected was Rs 91,839 cr which if increased by 9.56% becomes Rs 100619 crores.

THE CONTEXT, ESSENCE AND THE EFFECT OF BIBEK DEBROY REPORT

R.ELANGOVAN, Working President,DREU

“The expressions privatization,liberalization and deregulation are freely used in the context of railway restructuring,often synonymously.This committee will use the word liberalization and not the terms privatization and deregulation,as both of these two terms are apt to be misunderstood.”

Indian Railways: The Problem of Over-Staffing is Overstated?

Indian Railways (IR) is one of the world's  largest employer. At the end of the fiscal year 2013-14, the number of regular employees stood at 13,33,966. This figure in itself does not necessarily make Railways a bloated organisation. Report of the Committee for Mobilization of Resources for Major Railway Projects and Restructuring of Railway Ministry and Railway Board, popularly known as Bibek Debroy Committee, argues

CPC news

There are various reports of wage hike from 15.79 % to 40% in news papers/social media / web sites. It is once again clarified that none of these are correct. If we go through the statement of the Finance Minister in Parliament which says the salary outgo of central government employees will go up by 9.56 per cent to Rs 1,00,619 crore in current fiscal.

AILRSA CWC

AILRSA Central Working Committee Meeting will be held at MAHESWARI BHAVAN, TEKDI ROAD, SITA BUILD, NAGPUR on 30 & 31 August. For more information contact Com. MP DEV, All India Vice President, AILRSA  mob: 0860047825.

THE IMPORTANCE OF AUGUST 13

AGITATION OF LOCO RUNNING STAFF 1973 - ALL INDIA STRIKE BY LOCOMEN:

Against the pathetic working conditions and unlimited working hours the agitated loco running staff organized All India strike from 1973 August 1st.

11 central trade unions to go on nationwide strike on September 2

NEW DELHI: The 11 central trade unions will go on a nationwide strike on September 2 against the anti-worker policies of the government, defying the attempt of the government to address the issues of trade unions through an inter-ministerial committee comprising of the five key ministers of the Narendra Modi government.

Trade unions prepare cadre for September 2 strike

Ahead of a planned national strike on September 2, central trade unions, including the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), will spend the next few months galvanising their support base across districts and sectors.

Indian Railways has the opposition in residence: Bibek Debroy

A railway minister, who should formulate policy for the sector, is reduced to deciding how power is provided on passenger coaches. The Civil Service are the opposition in residence

Railways’ Q1 freight loading growth disappoints at 1.74%, but revenue rises

Indian Railways (IR) capital expenditure saw a huge and unprecedented increase and a lower-than-budgeted growth in working expenses in the first quarter, but the national transporter’s freight loading target was missed by a wide margin in the period.

Station Masters of CR and WR demand hike in minimum Grade Pa

Mumbai: Station masters in Mumbai division of Central Railway and Western Railway have sought Union Finance Ministry’s speedy clearance to the Railway Board’s proposal for increase in minimum grade pay. The station masters, united under the banner of All India Station Masters’ Associations (AISMA), made this demand in a press conference in Mumbai on Monday.

Decongestion of Trunk Railway Routes

There are 7 identified trunk routes across the country, which are also termed as High Density Network routes viz., (1) Delhi-Howrah, (2) Howrah-Mumbai, (3) Mumbai-Delhi, (4) Delhi-Guwahati, (5) Delhi-Chennai, (6) Chennai-Howrah and (7) Chennai-Mumbai.

Railways to Declare Quarterly Numbers; Q1 Capex Soars 134%: Suresh Prabhu

Mumbai: In a first, the Railways has decided to declare its quarterly financial numbers for three months till June, which shows that the national transporter's capital expenditure soared a whopping 134 per cent to Rs 17,734 crore from the projected Rs 13,231 crore.

Harda twin train derailment: Western and Central Railway cancel 22 and 57 trains respective

The Western Railway (WR) has cancelled as many as 22 trains, departing from its zonal stations, due to the Harda twin train derailment on the Khandwa-Itarsi section and heavy rainfall in the zones of its Ahmedabad division.

Freight train derails near Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: A freight train loaded with cement derailed near the Irugur Station on Friday afternoon, causing slight panic among commuters in the area. While the reason behind the derailment is yet to be ascertained, at least six passenger trains that pass through or end in Coimbatore have been delayed by 45 minute to more than an hour.

Don’t Compromise with Safety in Railway Operations; Human Life is precious: Supreme Court

Law enacted in 1989 for doing away with unmanned level crossings has not been implemented in the last 26 years which tantamount to dereliction of duties… observes the Social Justice Bench of Supreme Court of India

Madhya Pradesh Twin Train Mishap Could Not Have Been Averted, Say Railway Officials

HARDA/NEW DELHI -- Indian Railway Officials on Thursday claimed that the twin train derailment in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday night could not have been averted, as it had been caused by water that gushed 36 feet high from a rain-swollen river, breaching tracks which were just 13 feet above the river bed. This triggered the "freak" derailment of two express trains that killed 29 people.

Railways to import bogies from Amsted to speed up freight

New Delhi: For the first time in its history, Indian Railways will import 4,000 light-weight bogies from world’s leading wagon maker Amsted for Rs 400 crore to treble speed of freight movements, sources told Bloomberg TV India on Friday.

Railway Ministry convenes a meeting of Financial Institutions

Following up on the Banks’ & Financial Institutions’ Conclave held in Delhi on 21st July 2015, the Ministry of Railways are convening a meeting in Mumbai tomorrow i.e. on 7th August, 2015 with representatives of Financial Institutions to sensitize the finance community of emerging investment opportunities in the Railway Sector.

Derailment of Kamayani Express and Janta Express near Harda in Madhya Pradesh

The derailment of Train No. 11071 Dn (Lokmanya Tilak Terminus – Varanasi) Kamyani Express and Train No. 13201 Up (Rajendra Nagar – Lokmanya Tilak Terminus) Janta Express took place between Khirkiya and Bhirangi stations on Khandwa – Itarsi, Broad Gauge / Double Line/Electrified/B Route section of West Central Railway at about 23.30 hrs. on 04.08.2015.

Commercial Accounting must for IR for big investment to pour in: Bibek Debroy

Courtesy Charles Dickens we have the cliched Micawber Principle: “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery.” This does apply to many situations, including Indian Railways (IR).

27,581 Indians died in railway accidents in 2014

A total of 27,581 Indians died in 2014 in railway related accidents, the latest data by the National Crime Records Bureau shows.

The NCRB has recorded railway-related accidents in two categories - railway and railways crossing accidents.

Now, 7,200 tickets can be booked per minute on IRCTC

Minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha ​told the Parliament that the capacity of the e-ticket system has been expanded. ​Earlier, only 2,000 tickets could be booked per minute.

"In the time to come, we will increase the (ticket booking) capacity," he added.

Chinese-built railway to cut through national park in Kenya's capital

NAIROBI: Kenya's new Chinese-built rail line will cut through the capital's sprawling sanctuary for lions, giraffes and zebras, wildlife officials said on Friday, replacing the colonial-era railway known as the "Lunatic Express".

Bengal train services hit by heavy showers

Heavy overnight rains triggered by cyclone Komen flooded vital railway stations and railway car sheds in West Bengal hitting train services on Saturday.

Ganga Ram Agarwal takes over as new Secretary, Railway Board

Mr. Ganga Ram Agarwal, an officer of Indian Railway Services of Electrical Engineering (IRSEE), has been posted as the new Secretary, Railway Board.

Army honours railwaymen who averted Dinanagar train blast

The Indian Army on Saturday honoured two railway employees who averted a major tragedy by spotting live bombs planted by terrorists on a railway bridge near Dinanagar town in Punjab's Gurdaspur district on July 27.