Science & Environment
Indian Railways Special Trains: As the festive season approaches, Indian Railways has decided to run nearly 6,000 special trains to help more than one crore passengers get home for Durga Puja, Diwali, and Chhath festivals.
|Last Updated: Sep 27, 2024, 08:08 PM IST|Source: PTI
Science & Environment
Badlapur Protest Disrupts Indian Railways Services: The rail roko protest at Badlapur station in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Tuesday over the alleged sexual abuse of two girl students of a kindergarten led to the diversion of 12 long-distance trains via alternate routes, while authorities arranged buses for stranded commuters. As many as 30 suburban trains were partially cancelled, and the Railways approached the state and civic transport bodies to ply extra buses.
As protesters, including several women, came onto railway tracks and blocked traffic, local train services between Ambernath and Karjat stations were suspended from 10.10 am. The protest turned violent as agitators vandalised the school, where the alleged incident occurred last week, and also indulged in stone-pelting at the Badlapur railway station, police said.
At least 12 mail-express trains, including Solapur-CSMT Vande Bharat Express, were diverted via Diva-Panvel-Karjat stations till 5 pm, said Swapnil Nila, chief public relations officer (CRPO) of Central Railway. As many as 30 suburban trains between Ambernath and Karjat/ Khopoli have been cancelled so far, he said.
The number is likely to increase exponentially during the evening peak hour, he said. The Railways has approached the state and municipal transport bodies to run 100 extra buses for commuters between Kalyan and Karjat, and they have received 55 buses, Nila said.
According to railway sources, Kolhapur-bound Koyna Express from Mumbai was held up for four hours between Ambernath and Badlapur stations. Around 1 pm, the train was reversed and diverted via the Kalyan-Diva-Panvel-Karjat route.
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) deployed additional personnel at stations on the Kalyan-Karjat section of Central Railway, he said.
A senior divisional security manager, along with 60 jawans and 10 officials of the RPF, are closely monitoring the situation at Badlapur station with the Government Railway Police (GRP) staff.
Science & Environment
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announced on Sunday that it is rapidly advancing with its Phase 4 expansion, aiming to open all three priority corridors comprising 65 kilometers of new lines by 2026.
In a post on X, DMRC said that over 50 percent of the work on these corridors has been completed. Specifically, the Majlis Park-Maujpur section has reached about 80 percent completion in civil work. Tunneling is ongoing on the Aerocity-Tughlakabad (Golden Line) and Janakpuri West-RK Ashram Marg (Magenta Line) corridors.
Regarding delays in the project, DMRC explained that despite beginning Phase 4 in December 2019, the project faced significant delays from 2020 to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and challenges in obtaining tree-cutting permissions. The DMRC noted that substantial work on the project has been ongoing for the last one and a half to two years, aiming for completion by 2026.
The section from Janakpuri West to Krishna Park Extension is nearly finished and is expected to open by August 2024, with the Majlis Park-Maujpur corridor also slated for completion next year. Other sections will open gradually by 2026.
However, the DMRC is still awaiting certain permissions related to tree-cutting and land acquisition at specific sites. High-level site visits are being conducted to expedite the work, and the necessary tree-cutting approvals are actively being pursued. Additionally, two new corridors, Inderlok-Indraprastha and Saket G Block-Lajpat Nagar, have recently received approval.
“The project is being monitored at various levels on a day to day basis. Site visits are also taken up at the highest level to expedite the work. Tree cutting permissions are being pursued at appropriate levels.” said DMRC in an official statement.
The DMRC is currently securing statutory clearances, including land acquisition, and is in the process of planning and tendering for further civil works, ensuring the project remains on track for its 2026 completion target.
Science & Environment
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw carried out an elaborate assessment exercise of various aspects of safety and passenger amenities with top officials at the Rail Bhawan here on Monday.
Those who attended the meeting were Railway Board Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jaya Varma Sinha and Member Infrastructure Anil Kumar Khandelwal, the director general of the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) and the general managers of all railway zones and divisional railway managers from all divisions.
According to officials who attended the meeting, several important decisions regarding the upkeep of safety equipment in trains, improvement of the food quality, deep cleaning of trains and stations and drinking water facilities were taken in the interest of the passengers.
“To improve the reliability of the safety-related equipment, it was decided that the specifications, installation practices and maintenance practices of all key safety-related equipment would be reviewed. This would be done in workshops to be organised by the RDSO with all the manufacturers,” a senior railway official said.
“To improve the food quality, the IRCTC and its agencies are upgrading the base kitchens at 1,000 locations. The work is in progress and it was decided that it should be completed on a war footing in the next six months,” he added.
Other senior officials said decisions were taken to carry out deep cleaning of the pantry cars and storage areas in a target-oriented manner and also include it in the maintenance schedule so that it can be done on a regular basis.
“To improve water availability and cleaning of trains during journeys, it was decided that cleaning and watering facilities will be increased. The time required for cleaning and watering will be factored in in the time-tables for this crucial activity,” another official said.
Science & Environment
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has reviewed the progress of the advanced version of the Automatic Train Protection System (ATP) Kavach 4.0 at the Rail Bhawan here, officials said on Monday.
Kavach 3.2 version is being installed on approved high-density routes, the railway officials said, adding that upgrading and installation of the latest version on new routes will go on simultaneously to cover a wider railway network in a shorter period.
They said Vaishnaw reviewed the progress of Kavach 4.0 on June 22.
“The three manufacturers of Kavach who are in the advanced stage of testing version 4.0 presented its progress report to the minister,” a senior railway official said.
After reviewing it, the minister directed that Kavach installation be taken up in a planned manner in mission mode as soon as it is ready, he added.
The railway ministry maintains that the development of Kavach is a significant milestone in railway safety.
In the past, Vaishnaw stated on several occasions during interaction with the media that while most major railway systems in the world moved to ATP in the 1980s, the Indian Railways started this journey with the approval of the first version of the Train Collision Avoidance System in 2016.
In 2019, after rigorous trials and testing, this safety system received SIL4 certification, the highest level of safety certification in the world.
It was approved as a national ATP system in 2020 and despite the outbreak of COVID-19, testing and development continued, according to the Railways.
In 2021, version 3.2 of the system was certified and adopted and in the last quarter of 2022, work was started to install this version on high-density network routes of Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah.
Experts associated with the installation of the Automatic Train Protection system are of the view that this kind of system requires five subsystems for functioning.
Three subsystems such as an optical fibre network, towers and radio equipment as well as RFID tags are installed along the railway tracks whereas data centres are set up at the railway stations and integrated with the signalling system.
Besides, another subsystem of Kavach is installed on every train and locomotive.
The officials said that after the development of Kavach version 4.0 and its certification, railways will scale up its installation in mission mode.
“More manufacturers are developing the system who are in various stages of development. Being a safety system, Kavach approvals require meticulous testing at international standards before getting certified,” a senior railway official said.
“The Indian Railways operates a diverse network. Various scenarios need to be studied and included in safety systems because a train can travel anywhere on the railway network,” he added.
Science & Environment
The Central Railway has scheduled a significant 63-hour mega block starting at midnight on May 30, leading to the cancellation of 930 local train services. This extensive block aims to facilitate crucial platform extension and widening projects at two key stations: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Thane station.
Central Railway’s Infrastructure Upgrade Alert:
A crucial block was carried out from May 31st – June 2nd at CSMT & Thane. This is to extend platform 10/11, widening of platform 5/6 in Thane for better passenger movement & NI work.“We strive to minimize cancellations and… pic.twitter.com/uzaeySGnqX
— Central Railway (@Central_Railway) May 30, 2024
The mega block, crucial for extending platforms at CSMT and widening platforms at Thane station, is scheduled to end at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. These improvements are vital for handling the large number of commuters and enhancing overall safety and efficiency.
At Thane, platforms 5 and 6, which frequently experience overcrowding due to their narrow width and the operation of both mail/express and local trains, are being expanded by 2-3 metres.
According to PTI, the Central Railway will cancel a total of 930 local train services: 161 on Friday, 534 on Saturday, and 235 on Sunday. Additionally, 444 suburban services will be short-terminated: seven on Friday, 306 on Saturday, and 131 on Sunday. A total of 446 local train services will originate from various stations, with 307 on Saturday and 139 on Sunday.
Central Railway, which typically operates over 1,800 local train services daily across its four corridors (Main, Harbour, Trans-Harbour, and Uran), will face significant disruptions. These services cater to the commuting needs of over 30 lakh individuals.
The Railways have requested establishments to allow their staff to work from home or use alternative means to reduce the number of passengers. To mitigate inconvenience, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) and Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) have been asked to operate additional buses.
Science & Environment
Recently, a goods train derailed at Palghar Station near Mumbai on the UP line of the Mumbai-Surat section. The derailment, which involved six wagons and one VBG of a goods train, happened at point numbers 117/118 in the Palghar yard around 17:08 hrs. The incident has significantly impacted rail services in the region.
Restoration work is currently in progress to clear the affected tracks. Assistance and relief trains (ART) from Nandurbar, Udhna, Bandra Terminus, and Valsad are on their way to the site to expedite the restoration process.
Several train services have been either diverted or terminated due to the derailment:
The derailment has also caused disruptions to suburban services:
Passengers affected by the derailment can contact the following helpline numbers for assistance:
Science & Environment
The 01455 Pune-Ayodhya Cantt. Bi-Weekly Special train will run every Friday and Tuesday from May 10, 2024, to May 31, 2024.
