Railways

Vijayawada Railway Division logs highest gross earnings at Rs 5,306 cr

The South Central Railway (SCR) zone's Vijayawada Division has logged impressive financial metrics for the fiscal 2022-23, which include the highest ever gross earnings of Rs 5,306 crore and highest ever passenger revenue of Rs 1,247 crore among others, said an official on Thursday. Gross earnings rose by 66 per cent when compared to fiscal 2021-22 while the Division's previous best of Rs 5,136 crore was logged in 2018-19. Shivendra Mohan, divisional railway manager (DRM), said, "Divisional performance in 2022-23 is path breaking in the history of the Division, and exceeded the set targets and on all major fronts." Incidentally, the passenger revenues shot up by 70 per cent in comparison to Rs 730 crore recoded in the previous fiscal. However, freight business has emerged as the cash cow, contributing 74 per cent of the overall revenues, followed by 23 per cent from passenger business, 1.7 per cent from Other Coaching and 1.3 per cent from sundries. According to the DRM, 61.5 milli

This casting & forging company stock has zoomed 107% in less than 10 months

RK Forgings and Titagarh consortium had recently won Rs 12,226 cr contract for manufacturing and supply of 1.54 mn forged wheels of different rolling stocks to the Railways over a period of 20 years.

Western Railway launches app for live-tracking of trains in Mumbai suburban

The Western Railway (WR) on Wednesday launched a mobile application that will allow commuters to check the live status of trains on its suburban network spread between Churchgate station in south Mumbai and Dahanu in adjoining Palghar district. According to the zonal railway, the app, 'Yatri', also has several other features. Western Railway general manager Ashok Kumar Misra launched the app at Churchgate station concourse in the presence of railway officials and other dignitaries, Sumit Thakur, chief public relations officer, WR, said in a press release. The Western Railway has installed GPS tracking devices in all its suburban trains, which will enable the app to provide their real-time location. Thakur said with this app, developed in collaboration with a private firm, commuters will not only be able to get a train's live location on map, but can also see it moving. In just three simple steps, commuters can view the live location. Commuters can find the nearest stations directl

Rs 70,000 cr corridor for tribal dominated region in Budget 2023-24: Govt

To push rail infrastructure and connectivity in tribal dominated regions, the detailed project report of a new line "Janjatiya Gaurav Corridor" -- provided in the Union Budget for FY 2023-24 -- has been taken up, the government informed Lok Sabha on Wednesday. In a written reply, Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the DPRs of the projects identified under the corridor, costing Rs 70,000 crore, including those falling fully or partly in Odisha have been taken up which includes consultations with various stakeholders including state governments, public representatives, and organisations/rail users/tribal people etc among others. "In order to push the rail infrastructure in tribal dominated regions and to promote the rail connectivity in such regions in coming years, an umbrella work of new line as 'Janjatiya Gaurav Corridor' costing Rs 70,000 crore has been provided in the Budget for FY 2023-24 subject to requisite government approvals. "Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of the ...

'Vande Bharat' train's miniature scale model showcased at Pune's Museaum

A special miniature scale model of 'Vande Bharat', the indigenously designed semi-high speed express train, has been put on display at the Pune-based Joshi's Museum of Miniature Railways to provide information about the train to rail enthusiasts. The 'Vande Bharat' model, designed on '1:100' scale, was unveiled by Pune Guardian Minister Chandrakant Patil during a special visit to the museum on Tuesday as the facility is celebrating 25 years of its existence. Ravi Joshi, who currently runs the museum, said they made the model based on actual drawings from the Indian Railways. "All minute details were taken into consideration while designing this static model. Work is in progress on a working miniature model of 'Vande Bharat', and it will soon be showcased in the museum, he said. It took them three months to design the static model of 'Vande Bharat', Joshi's son Devavrat said. The Vande Bharat trains are currently operational on multiple routes in the country. Patil, while unveilin

Nepal-India railway line from Jaynagar to Kurtha completes 1 year

The first broad-gauge passenger railway service connecting Bihar's Jaynagar with Kurtha in Nepal's Janakpur city completed a year of operation and is running profitably, a media report said on Tuesday. The 35-kilometre railway line started its commercial operation on April 3, 2022, and has been making two round trips between its destinations daily, The Rising Nepal newspaper said. It was virtually inaugurated last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his then-Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba. The Jaynagar-Kurtha section is 35 km long and 3 km of which lies in Bihar and the rest in Nepal. It is part of the Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas rail link, executed with grant assistance of Rs 548 crore from India. According to the report, the rail service started operations last year after remaining closed for more than a decade. We were worried about whether we would get passengers or be able to make a profit, General Manager of Nepal Railway Company Limited (NRCL), Niranjan Kumar

Rail projects worth Rs 33600 crore approved for Mumbai Metropolitan Region

Projects worth Rs 33,690 crore were approved on Monday with the aim of creating additional infrastructure for Mumbai's suburban railway network, often called the lifeline of the country's financial capital and its adjoining metropolitan region, an official said. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and officials of Mumbai Railway Development Corporation were present when the projects were approved, he said. "The projects include laying of 5th and 6th lines between Borivali and Virar on Western Railway. Similarly, the 3rd and the 4th line between Kalyan and Badlapur (15 km) on Central Railway also got approved," a statement from the CMO said. "Another major decision is extending the current Harbour line from Goregaon to Borivali, which is a seven km distance. All these works will help the railways run more suburban as well as long-distance trains," the official said.

Restore railway fare concession for senior citizens: Kejriwal to PM Modi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restore the railway fare concession for senior citizens, saying no society and country can progress without the blessings of its elderly. In a letter to the prime minister, he said the Centre has a budget of Rs 45 lakh crore and would incur a cost of Rs 1600 crore, which was just a "drop in the ocean", if it extends the concession to senior citizens. It was "unfortunate" to terminate the rail ticket concession scheme for the elderly and monetary constraints cannot be the reason for it, he said and cited his government spending Rs 50 crore in the annual budget on a scheme for free pilgrimage. Please do not stop the concession given to the elderly in the railways. Crores of elderly people are benefiting from this concession, Kejriwal, who sent the letter on Saturday, tweeted. By stopping the facility, a message was being given to senior citizens that the government did not care for them which was against t

Wabtec Corp plans to make Bihar factory into an export-oriented unit

A strong order book of around $1.5 billion itself is proof of Wabtec's growing strength in the Indian rail sector

Restore fare concessions offered to senior citizens in railways: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restore the fare concessions offered to senior citizens by the railways. In a letter to the prime minister on Saturday last, he said the Centre has a budget of Rs 45 lakh crore and it would incur a cost of Rs 1600 crore if it extends the concession to senior citizens. Terming the amount as a drop in the ocean, he said the government will not become rich by not spending the amount. By stopping the facility a message was being given to senior citizens that the government did not care for them which was against the culture of the country, he said, adding that no person, society or country can progress without the blessings of the elderly. Delhi was seeing progress in all areas due to the blessings of the elderly for whom free pilgrimage of religious places has been arranged by his government, he said. The Centre had in 2020 discontinued the concessions granted to senior citizens to discourage the movement

Kerala train fire: 3 bodies found on railway track, police hunt for suspect

The suspect, who is yet to be identified, escaped after passengers pulled the emergency chain

Railways to operate Vande Bharat Metro from Jammu to Srinagar: Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said a Vande Bharat Metro train will be operated between Jammu and Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir once the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project (USBRL) becomes fully operational. Addressing mediapersons at the first run of a track-mounted trolley on the world's highest arch bridge constructed on the Chenab river, he said the USBRL project will be completed by December this year or January 2024. Vaishnaw travelled on the track-mounted trolley with railway officials and inspected the iconic bridge having the height of 359 metres from the Chenab riverbed. Vaishnaw said it has been decided to set up a Vande Bharat Express train maintenance facility at Badgam in the Kashmir Valley and in the first go Vande Bharat Metro will be run between Jammu and Srinagar cities once this important railway link, which will connect the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country through rail network gets completed. The iconic bridge having a foundatio

Rlys order for supply of seats for Vande Bharat, not for coaches: Tata

The order placed by the Railways is for the supply of seats and interior panels for Vande Bharat trains and "not to manufacture its coaches", a Tata Steel official has clarified. As part of the Rs 225 crore order, Tata Steel will supply light-weight seats for 23 coaches of Vande Bharat rails and fibre-reinforced polymer composites-based interior panels for 16 coaches of the high-speed train, Debashish Bhattacharjee, Vice President (VP) - Technology & New Materials Business of Tata Steel, told PTI. Some sections of the media have reported that Tata Steel has bagged orders for manufacturing coaches of Vande Bharat trains, which is "incorrect and baseless. We have not received the order to manufacture its coaches," he said. "Tata Steel has bagged the seats and interior panels order through a competitive bidding process executed by the national transporter (the Railways). We appeared as L1 for the prestigious order," he said, adding that the value of the order is Rs 225 crore. The ...

Taking a look at some high-frequency indicators for January-February

CEA V Anantha Nageswaran had said that to get to 7 percent GDP growth in FY23, the January-March quarter will have to register a 5.1% real GDP growth

Roof mounted AC units for passenger coaches to have 28% GST: Punjab AAAR

Issue was product would come under which heading of harmonised system of nomenclature code

World-class rail stations to be set up in Rajasthan, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said world-class stations will be set up in Rajasthan which has seen a multifold increase in grants for the rail sector. Addressing a 'Brahmin Mahapanchayat' called by Vipra Sena, he said, "The grant given to Rajasthan 10 years ago was Rs 600 crore, but this time the state has got a grant of Rs 9,532 crore." Vaishnaw said world-class railway stations will be built in Abu Road, Ajmer, Alwar, Asalpur, Jobner, Balotra, Bandikui, Chittorgarh and Dausa, among other places. "We have to give a new future to Rajasthan," he said. In the programme, the Vipra Sena raised multiple demands such as increasing the 10 per cent reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) to 14 per cent, making misbehaviour and assault on priests a non-bailable offence and removing encroachments from temple lands. The BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Ghanshyam Tiwari said a board for the Hindu religion should be made on the lines of the Waqf board. Former BJP state presi

Take steps to better punctuality of trains: Rly Board to North Central Zone

The Railway Board has asked the North Central Railway Zone to improve the punctuality of trains that emanate from or pass through it. NCR, which always had a remarkable record of maintaining trains' punctuality, has, of late, reported poor punctuality performance as several trains have failed to maintain their running time schedule. It has been observed that the punctuality performance of NCR is showing a declining trend, the Railway Board said in a communication to the Principal Chief Operations Manager of NCR. Board desires that NCR should take corrective measures for punctual running of trains, closely monitor punctual running of mail express trains from point to point, control assets failures and improve rectification time of failures, so that punctuality losses are minimised, it added. Anand Swaroop, Divisional Railway Manager, Agra division, which comes under NCR, blamed the ongoing infrastructural work, due to which the smooth running of trains has been impacted. A lot of .

Rlys plans concessions for truckers on dedicated freight corridors

Move aimed at capturing modal freight share from national highways

Indian Railways to launch Bharat Gaurav train to northeast on March 21

The Indian Railways is set to launch its first Bharat Gaurav train to the northeast on March 21 which will offer passengers a tour of the region, the Ministry of Railways said in a statement on Saturday. The 15-day tour will cover Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya. "The much sought-after train tour 'North East Discovery: Beyond Guwahati' is ready to depart on March 21, 2023 from Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station on a 14 nights/15 days itinerary. "State-of-the-art Deluxe AC Tourist Train with AC I & AC II class will accommodate total 156 tourists," the statement said. The places which will be covered as part of the tour are Guwahati, Sivasagar, Jorhat and Kaziranga in Assam; Unakoti, Agartala and Udaipur in Tripura; Dimapur and Kohima in Nagaland; and Shillong and Cherapunji in Meghalaya. Tourists can also board or deboard at Delhi, Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Tundla, Itawah, Kanpur, Lucknow and Varanasi railway stations. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism ...

Railway freight rises 3.5% in Feb; thermal coal volumes increase 8%

According to sector watchers, the numbers suggest that the railways will comfortably meet its budgeted target of 1475 Mt in the current fiscal year