Ministry of Railways
29-December, 2017 17:56 IST
Year End Review 2017 of Ministry of Railways
During 2016-17 consequential train accidents decreased from 107 to 104 in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year. Track Renewal speeded up-2148 km old rails have been replaced with new rails upto Nov’17.
Ground-breaking ceremony of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project (MAHSR) by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and Hon’ble Prime Minister of Japan held in September, 2017.
Introduced First AC EMU consisting of 12-car (12 coaches) fitted with “Indigenous” 3-phase Propulsion system of Ms BHEL on Mumbai Suburban Section.
Mission Retro-Fitment to revamp passenger coaches launched to enhance the passenger experience. It will cover 45,000 Coaches.
14 Rajdhanis and 15 Shatabdi trains were identified to significantly improve passengers experience under “Project Swarn”.
Host of Passenger Amenities and Digital Initiatives were taken during the year 2017.
All time record commissioning of Electric Traction of 2367 route kilometer was achieved.
Introduced and proliferated Global Positioning System (GPS) based ‘Fog Pass device’ which displays the name and distance of approaching signals and other critical signal landmarks in advance during train operation.
In order to improve the functioning of Railways, substantial financial and administrative powers covering a wide spectrum of working have been delegated by the Railway Board to General Managers (GM),Divisional Railway Managers (DRM) and field officials.
PASSENGER AMENITIES, SERVICES
· From 03rd Nov. 2017, Service started to provide information to passengers through Short Messaging Service (SMS) regarding status of delayed trains. Initially, all Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Tejas & Gatiman Trains covered. From 15th Dec, 2017, all Jan shatabdis, Duranto and Garib Rath trains have also been included. Now this service is available in around 250 trains.
· Permitted m-Aadhar as one of the prescribed proofs of Identity for Rail Travel Purpose.
· Extension of Scheme of Alternate Train Accommodation System aka VIKALP for the benefit of Waitlisted Passengers with effect from 1st April, 2017 in all Mail/Express trains.
· Initiatives for The Senior Citizens -Persons With Disabilities: Indian Railways launched Quota of 2 Berths for Divyangjans & Senior Citizens in AC 3 class. This is in addition to existing quota of 4 berths in SL class.
· Online booking of Retiring Rooms has been commissioned at 497 railway stations of Indian Railways. With a view to ensure optimal utilization of available accommodation in Retiring Rooms and Dormitory, instructions have been issued to Western Railway for booking of Retiring Room as well as dormitory for minimum duration of 3 hrs except for night booking where the booking will be done mandatorily from 2100 hrs to 0900 hrs. This facility is presently available at Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat stations.
· New Catering Policy in Railways launched. 33% Sub Quota for Women in Allotment of each Category of minor Catering Units at All Category of stations has been provided under this policy. Roped in Self Help Groups To Make Local Cuisines Available Through E-Catering Services of its PSU IRCTC.
· Initiated programme for 100% LED lighting at stations leading to improved illumination and passenger safety. Completed more than 3500 stations so far with a target to cover all Railway stations by March 2018.
· Provision of mobile/laptop charging points at all railway platforms.
· Provision of insect catchers at railway stations.
· A new mobile app IRCTC Rail Connect launched. Aadhar linked user IDs have been allowed to book 12 e-tickets in one month as against 6 tickets for non Aadhar user IDs.
· A new Integrated Mobile App ‘Rail SAARTHI’ launched which provides various services viz. Rail e-ticket booking, unreserved ticketing, complaint management, Clean my Coach, passenger enquiry etc.
· Payment of ticket using UPI/BHIM App has been implemented at reservation counters as well as on e-ticketing website.
·
Project Swarn - 14 Rajdhanis and 15 Shatabdi trains were identified to significantly improve passengers experience under “
Project Swarn”. To achieve the objectives under this Project, ‘staff behaviour’ was identified as an important parameter. The frontline staff of these premier trains was trained in various aspects such as catering, linen management and cleanliness.
HIGH SPEED RAILWAY/ MOBILITY
· A road map developed to increase speed of trains by overcoming the existing impediments on Principal routes of the railways on Golden Quadrilateral(GQ) along with diagonals (Delhi – Mumbai, Delhi – Howrah, Howrah- Chennai, Chennai – Mumbai, Delhi – Chennai and Howrah – Mumbai) due to fixed infrastructure, movable infrastructure, and operational practices.
· Projects for two routes viz. New Delhi- Mumbai Central (including Vadodara- Ahmedabad) and New Delhi- Howrah (including Kanpur- Lucknow) for raising of speed to 160/200kmph have been included in WP 2017-18 at Rs. 18,000 crores approximately. Speed Enhancement project entails works such as through fencing, removal of level crossings, train protection warning system (TPWS), mobile train radio communication (MTRC), automated and mechanized diagnostic systems etc. which will considerably enhance safety and reliability. The main outcome of the implementation of the projects is increase in the maximum speed of the trains to 160/200 kmph. This will reduce the travel time of premium Rajdhani type trains to 12 hours as against the present travel time of 17 hours for Howrah Rajdhani and 15 hours 35 minutes for Mumbai Rajdhani.
· Replacement of loco hauled commuter trains with MEMU/DEMU trains: MEMU trains have a potential for average speed increment of up to 20kmph in comparison to loco driven passenger trains.
· Ground-breaking ceremony of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project (MAHSR) by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and Hon’ble Prime Minister of Japan was held in September, 2017. Managing Director and other Directors in the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), constituted for implementation of the MAHSR project, have been appointed.
· Following Semi High Speed Studies are underway:
o Delhi-Chandigarh (244 km): Final report of feasibility cum implementation study of New Delhi-Chandigarh Corridor for raising the speed of passenger trains to 200 kmph by SNCF/France has been received. Report under scrutiny.
o Nagpur – Secunderabad (575 km): A Protocol under co-operation MoU has been signed between Ministry of Railways and Russian Railways for carrying out feasibility cum implementation study. Work started in June 2016 and progressing as per schedule.
o Chennai- Kazipet by German Railways- Joint declaration of intent has been signed between both the parties on 10/10/17 for raising the speed of passenger trains to 200kmph on the existing route on 50:50 cost sharing basis. The feasibility study shall be carried out after signing a separate agreement, which is under finalization.
o Feasibility study for High Speed Rail on Mysuru-Bengaluru-Chennai through Government to Government (G2G) with the Government of Germany has commenced.
SAFETY
· During 2016-17 consequential train accidents decreased from 107 to 104 in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year. In the current year from 1st April, 2017 to 30th November, 2017 consequential train accidents decreased from 85 to 49 in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year.
· During the year from January to December 2017 to give thrust to safety related issues, Safety drives were launched on all zonal railways with a view to prevent accidents.
· Emphasis on night inspections and ambush checks regularly by officers and supervisors, review of fracture prone locations, frequent and intensive footplate inspection, etc.
· Focus on monitoring practices associated with booking, counselling, training, PME, performance evaluation etc. of crew in view of SPAD by Loco Pilots.
· A special safety drive regarding – “Working on running lines” and “Safety at work sites” for a period of fifteen days to check incidences of uncoupling in passenger train (Locomotive Getting Separated from Formation).
· Gate Mitras were deployed at all unmanned level crossings (UMLCs) on Broad Gauge instead of only identified UMLCs in order to enhance safety.
· Under Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) a provision of `20,000 crore has been made in 2017-18 out of ‘RRSK’ to fund essential works for ensuring safety.
·
High Level Safety Review Committee (HLSRC): A High Level Safety Review Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. Anil Kakodkar, former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commissionwas constituted on 16.09.2011 to go into all technical and technology related aspects in connection with safe running of train services in the country. The Committee submitted its Report on 17.02.2012. All the 106 recommendations of the Committee have since been deliberated upon and 87 recommendations have been found fully/partially acceptable and 19 have not been found acceptable to the Ministry of Railways.
· Of the accepted recommendations, 65 have been fully/partially implemented. The remaining recommendations are at various stages of implementation.
·
Target of Eliminating All Unmanned Level Crossing preponed to 2018. Till the time this is achieved, in the interim period, Indian Railways decided to deploy Gate Mitras. Gate Mitra is an initiative where a person will be deployed at a UMLC, and would alert road users about approaching trains. All UMLCs on Broad Gauge as on November 2017 were provided with Gate Mitras.
·
Track Renewal speeded up: 2148 km old rails have been replaced with new rails upto Nov’17.Progress during corresponding period last year was 1624 km between April to Nov’16.
· Self-Propelled Ultrasonic Rail Testing (SPURTZ Car) is under procurement and trial of Ultrasonic Broken Rail Detection System is underway. Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) is under implementation on Suburban/High- density Routes.
· Decided to switch over to 100 % manufacture of Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches as these have numerous advantages over ICF coaches including higher speed and safety especially during derailment and collisions. Completely switch over to LHB coaches production from 2018-19.
SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT AND INNOVATION
· Comprehensively revised categories of various Railway Stations.In new scheme of station categorization, even the small stations, because of footfall criteria, to get the higher level of passenger amenities leading to better passenger satisfaction
.
· Introduced and proliferated Global Positioning System (GPS) based
‘Fog Pass device’ which displays the name and distance of approaching signals and other critical signal landmarks in advance during train operation
. At present total
7263 Fog Pass Devices have been procured and being used in
NR, NER, NCR, ECR, NFR&
NWR which are the most fog affected Railways.
· Major Transparency measures by RDSO:
a) “New Online Vendor Registration System” has been launched by RDSO with effect from
8th Nov 2017- With the new online system implemented by RDSO since 8th Nov 2017, the Vendor can now deposit registration fee, submit documents, download technical drawings & specifications and interact with RDSO online.
b) All RDSO controlled items have now been listed on RDSO website with specific timelines for Vendor Registration process for each individual item. RDSO will endeavour to complete the registration process for which the vendor applies within defined timelines.
c) Innovation Challenge: An Innovation Challenge has been conducted to invite ideas and to augment the pace of Indian Railways operational improvements through innovative methods. Innovation Challenges attracted a huge response and a total of 4683 entries were received. RDSO has been entrusted the task of conducting the screening and evaluation process. The Innovation Challenge has been conducted in the following 06 areas:
(i) Accessibility to trains from low level platforms
(ii) Increasing capacity of coaches
(iii) Digital capabilities at stations.
(iv) Design of Wagons for efficient loading and transportation of new commodities.
(v) New Idea/ Suggestion to improve the working of Indian Railways.
(vi) Increasing Non-fare revenue of Indian Railways.
TRANSPARENCY
· Online Tracking of Contractor’s Bill enabled on single website - IT enabled real-time Web based system has been developed for tracking bill payments. This system enables the registered vendor/contractor to track status of bills from the time they are submitted to the Railways till the final payment is made.
· Implementation of 100% Digitization of Receipt Note.
· Digital finalization of tenders – Total 54700 tender cases finalized this year digitally through Indian Railway E-Procurement portal
www.ireps.gov.in.
· More than 1000 e-Reverse Auction tenders opened on Indian Railways web portal during last 1 year.
NEW TRAINS
· India’s
First Tejas Express Between Mumbai and Karmali inaugurated.
· More Than Three Decade Old Demand for an “Express” Train for People of Kirandul in Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh fulfilled.
Extended Train No. 08152 Visakhapatnam – Jagdalpur Upto Kirandul.
· Prime Minister of India & Prime Minister of Bangladesh Jointly along with Chief Minister, West Bengal Flagged off New Cross-Border Train between India & Bangladesh, “
Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan Express” from Kolkata.
· Introduced tri- weekly
new Special Rajdhani between Delhi – Mumbai route from 16th October, 2017.
·
Introduced First AC EMU consisting of 12-car (12 coaches) fitted with “Indigenous” 3-phase Propulsion system of Ms BHEL on Mumbai Suburban Section.
·
Introduced Third Mahamana Express to run between Varanasi and Vadodara on 22nd September 2017.
·
Vistadome Tourist Coach with glass walls launched at Vishakhapatnam to run between Visakhaptnam and Araku Valley. The Vistadome coach has features like glass roof, LED lights, rotable seats, GPS based info system etc will offer to tourists to enjoy scenic beauty not only at destination but also along the journey.
· Introduced Train No.22165/22166 Bhopal-Singrauli Express (Bi-Weekly):
· Introduced Train No 22167/22168 Singrauli-H. Nizamuddin Express(Weekly) :
· Introduced Train No 18109/18110 Jammu Tawi-Rourkela Express (Daily) Upto Sambalpur:
· Introduced Train No 22913/22914 Bandra(T)-Patna Humsafar Express (Weekly)
· Introduced Train No 22921/22922 Bandra(T)-Gorakhpur Antyodaya Express (Weekly)
· Introduced Train No 22434/ 22433Anand Vihar (T) To Ghazipur (Bi-weekly) via Kanpur, Allahabad:
· Introduced New DEMU Service between Baiyappanahalli-Whitefild-Baiyappanahalli.
· Introduced Train No 22163/64 Bhopal- Khajuraho Mahamana Intercity Express (Daily),
· Introduced Train No 22833/34 Bhubaneswar- Krishnarajapuram Humsafar Express (Weekly)
· Introduced Train No 17323/17324 Hubballi - Varanasi - Hubballi Express (Weekly)
· Introduced Train No 17325/17326 Hubballi - Mysuru - Hubballi Express (Daily)
· Introduced Train No 16791/16792 from Punalur to Palakkad.
· Introduced Train No 22992/22991 Veraval - Bandra Terminus Super Fast Express
· Introduced Train No 22994/22993 Mahuva - Bandra Terminus Super Fast Express
· Introduced Train No 19030/19029 Mahuva - Bandra Terminus Super Fast Express
· Introduced Train No 58653/58654 Ranchi-Barkichanpi Passenger upto Tori
· Introduced Train No Train No 14715/14716 Sri Ganganagar - Tiruchirappalli Humsafar Express (Weekly) (via Krishnarajapuram, Pune, Ahmedabad)
the fourth Humsafar clan of trains
· Introduced Train No Train No 22877/22878 Ernakulam - Howrah Antyodaya Express (Weekly) (via Salem, Katpadi, Visakhapatnam)
first Antyodaya clan of trains.
· Extended Train No. 19653/19654 Ajmer Ratlam Express Extended up to Indore.
· Extended Frequency of Train No.22419/22420 Ghazipur City-Anand Vihar (T) Suhail Dev Express from tri-weekly to four days a week.
· Extended Frequency of Train No.19041/19042 Bandra (T)-Ghazipur City Express (weekly to bi-weekly).
· Extension of Train No.58429/58430/58431/58432 (Khurda Road- Bolagarh) passenger trains extended upto Nayagarh Town.
INFRASTRUCTURE
· The first Phase of the Station Redevelopment Program comprising 23 major Railway Stations of Indian Railways was launched.
· Mission Retro-Fitment to revamp passenger coaches launched to enhance the passenger experience. It will cover 45,000 Coaches.
· Significant Step taken towards Providing Rail Connectivity for Chardham Pilgrimage in the State of Uttarakhand through commencement of final location Survey.
·
Record Commissioning of sections on Electric Traction: During the calendar year 2017, all time record commissioning of Electric Traction of
2367 route kilometer was achieved. A target for electrification of 4,000 route kilometer has been set for achievement during financial year 2017-18.
·
Major Strategic Decisions to speed up 100% Electrification work-
a) For Rail Electrification projects, Provision of “Deemed approval” has been made for various drawings/schematic/plan wherever approving authorities do not take decision within specified timelines.
b) In future, doubling, new line and gauge conversion projects for the sections shall be simultaneously assessed with electrification.
c) To avoid multiplicity of agencies involved in execution, it has been decided that “Henceforth, where electrification and doubling works have been sanctioned both works should be executed by the same agency.
d) It has been decided to go for large size contracts on EPC mode on case to case basis, preferably adopting EPC (turnkey) based contracting system or large composite item rate contract in package size of 300/500/1000/1500RKMs.
·
Opening of Major Routes On Electric Traction: During the calendar year 2017, commissioning of missing links have resulted in better linkages and seamless connectivity on following routes:
o Commissioning of
Andal-Sitarampur section,
o Commissioning of
Indore-Mhow section.
o Commissioning of
Singapur Road - Lanjigarh - Titlagarh section
o Commissioning of
Lapanga - Sambalpur section.
o Commissioning of
Una Himachal - Amb Andura section.
o Commissioning of
Lalitpur - Udaipurasection.
o Commissioning of
Walgaon - Narkher section.
o Commissioning of
Manpur-Tilaiya-Bakhtiyarpur section.
o Commissioning of
Ramanagaram-Mysore section.
·
Energy Management: Dedicated transmission line network of railway-8000 Km network planned. Existing transmission line network from Dadri-Kanpur extended up to Allahabad. Work in progress for Allahabad-Mughalsarai transmission line network.
·
Electric Locomotive Factory at Madhepura in Bihar (Make in India project)- First phase of construction of factory has been completed. First prototype locomotive under assembly at the factory and expected to be rolled out by Feb.’18 as per time line. Manufacturing of High Horse Power Freight locomotives (9000 hp) for hauling longer and heavier trains with improved mobility. Manufacturing of High Horse Power Passenger locomotives (9000 hp) for improving average speed of coaching trains in this Locomotive Factory at Madhepura.
· Technological Interventions for Crew Comfort inside locomotives
:
(a) Water Closets in Locomotives
(b) Cab air conditioners
(c) Improved Cab Ergonomics and layout
· Distributed Power Wireless Control System (DPWCS) for hauling longer and heavier freight trains with two or more locos in between train configuration.
· Technological Interventions for Safety - Crew Voice and Video recording system.
· New Era of Green Technology (HOG power supply) with use of Hotel load converter on electric locomotives in WAP-7 locomotives and in WAP-5 locomotives. Provision of
Hotel loadconverter on locomotives, eliminates the use of diesel generator cars, thereby replacing power cars by passenger carrying coaches.
DIGITAL INDIA INITIATIVES
· For incentivizing people to opt digital transactions, IR has withdrawn service charge from booking of e-tickets, offered free insurance of Rs 10 lakhs on e-tickets and 0.5% discount on Season Tickets purchased through digital means etc.
· Around 9,500 POS machines have been installed at various ticket booking counters to accept payment from Debit/Credit cards. No MDR is charge for booking through Debit cards at ticketig counters.
· The facility of payment through UPI/BHIM has been provided at PRS counters.
· Rail Cloud Project launched - To achieve the goal of single digital platform for Indian Railways.
· RailsaverApp developed and its utilization popularized with the railways.
· Implementation of e-office in the Railway Board.
· Implementation of on-line submission and assessment of Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR) through SPARROW for officers of Indian Railways.
· Digitization of old Annual Performance Appraisal Reports (APARs) of Group-A Officers of Indian Railways.
· Launching complimentary Wi-Fi facility at National Rail Museum (NRM), New Delhi, first museum in India to have such facility.
· Agreement with M/s Google Cultural Institute (GCI) for digitization of Railway Heritage and bringing them online for universal access and creating awareness among future generations.
· In collaboration with Google Cultural Institute , launched an innovative programme for dissemination of India’s rich cultural heritage to railway passengers through video screens at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai.
· In collaboration with ISRO, expediting use of space technology on Indian Railways for various projects like Real Time Train Information System, Advance Warning System at Unmanned Level Crossing Gates
· In order to promote digital payments, preference in Upgradation to those passengers who have booked ticket through digital mode of payment has been implemented.
FREIGHT
·
Liberalised Automatic Freight Rebate Scheme in Empty flow Directions has been issued w.e.f.01.01.2017 by modifying earlier TEFD Scheme.
·
Policy on Long Term Tariff Contract with key freight customers has been issued on 30.3.2017. Total 24 proposals were received and out of them, 21 proposals / agreements have been signed. The major companies who have entered into contact with Zonal Railways under this scheme included TATA Steel, Ultra-tech Cement, India Cement, Jindal Steel and Power, J.K. Cement, Ambuja, ACC etc.
·
Double stack dwarf container introduced as a new delivery model to increase Loadability and attract new traffic under wire. New tariff policy granting 17% rebate to Double Stack Dwarf Container trains has also been issued on 14.07.2017.
·
Right Powering of freight trains: To provide high speed to freight trains and ensure swift movement of goods, New policy introduced for right powering arrangement for freight trains with a horse power to trailing load ratio of 1.5-2.0 for improving average speeds.
· New Partnership with
India Post for Business Parcel launched.
·
Mission Hundred’ – Commissioning of PFTs/Sidings- 45 terminals have been commissioned during 2016-17. Out of the remaining 55 terminals, so far 13 terminals have been commissioned in 2017-2018.
FINANCE
· Inaugurated the following policy initiatives for non fare revenue viz., Policy Initiatives of Increasing Non Fare Revenue like Out of Home Advertisement,Content on demand, Branding of Trains, Non-fare Revenue Policy, ATM Policy and Initiatives promoting ease of ticketing through digital transactions (for reserved as well as unreserved passengers)
· Savings of Rs. 512 Cr.(approx.) has been achieved since July’17 by adopting best procurement policies/practices like Design modification, change in specification, challenging consumption, Long Term Contracting, Reverse Auction, improving vendor base etc.
MAKE IN INDIA INITIATIVES
· Policy on Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) dated 15-06-2017 implemented.
· Policy for providing Preference to Domestically Manufactured Iron & Steel Products (DMI&SP) implemented.
· Policy for preference to Domestically Manufactured Electronic Goods issued by The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in October, 2017.
· Relaxation from condition of prior turnover and prior experience for Startups and Medium Small Enterprises.
·
Vendor meets organized on PAN-India basis at 12 prominent locations across the country in association with MSME & SIDBI during October & November 2017 with special emphasis on development of indigenous firms.
SECURITY
· Seats earmarked for Security Personnel of escorting teams in the trains. Berth no.63 in S1 Coach of the train earmarked for Security Personnel so they can be located easily in case of need.
· Railway Protection Force decided to extend Child Rescue Campaign in 47 additional Railway Stations taking total to 82 Railway Stations. The campaign had been successfully implemented in 35 existing Railway Stations. RPF rescued around 21,000 children in last three years.
GREEN INITIATIVES
· Dedicated Green Corridor in Bhagalpur- Banka section (Bihar) of Malda Division.
· Dedicated Green Corridor-Madhupur-Giridih section of Asansol Division.
· 500 Kwp Solar Roof Top System commissioned at Mysuru Work Shop.
· Indian Railways Organization for Alternate Fuel (IROAF) sets gold standards by winning Golden Peacock Award for Eco Innovation for the year 2017 for introducing eco friendly and cost saving Dual Fuel 1400 HP Diesel engines on DEMU trains.
· First DEMU Train with Solar powered Coaches inducted into service of the Nation.
· New Water Management Policy with respect to consumption and utilization in Railways was released.
· GreenCo Certificates developed by CII given to Three Units of Indian Railways viz. Diesel Locomotive Works (Varanasi), Perambur Carriage Works (Chennai), Lalaguda Carriage Workshop (Hyderabad)
· Various new initiatives taken for improving energy efficiency- Replacement of all electrical equipments at railway stations and service buildings with energy efficient BEE star rated equipments under ESCO model, 100% LED lighting at all the railway stations, service buildings, workshops, Sheds and other installations etc. With this, savings of Rs. 125 Cr. achieved this year by saving about 7% energy.
· Building Management Information System (BMIS) implemented at Rail Bhawan including LED lights which shall save about Rs.30 lacs per annum in the energy bill.
· Policy for use of energy efficient equipments by all vendors issued to the railways.
· More than 60 MW of solar & wind power plants have already been installed covering
270 stations&
120 administrative buildings & hospitals and further orders for about 150 MW have been placed for solar plants on roof tops of Railway Buildings.
· An International Conference on Green Initiatives and Railway Electrification organized in October 2017.
HUMAN RESOURCE
·
Project Saksham Launched : The decision of imparting a week-long training in skills and domain knowledge to all the employees of Indian Railways had been taken. The focus of all such training is to ‘make a difference’ to the job performance.
· Station Directors in large Stations have been now given the powers of the Branch Officers in the divisions to enable them to take decisions for smooth operations.
· Employee Charter was released. An employees’ charter is notified for ensuring time bound redressal of railways employees’ issues related to dues, entitlements and grievances.
· NIVARAN- Portal for Grievance Redressal of Railway Employees was launched.
· Cashless treatment Scheme in Emergency (CTSE) Scheme was launched for Railway Employees.
· DRMs /Chief Workshop Managers (CWMs) have been given powers to
re-engage retired railway employeesup to 62 years of age against vacancies.
· NRTU is being established at Vadodara, Gujrat to give impetus to research and training in rail transport.
REFORMS
· In order to improve the functioning of Railways, substantial financial and administrative powers covering a wide spectrum of working have been delegated by the Railway Board to General Managers (GM),Divisional Railway Managers (DRM) and field officials.
· Number of posts of Additional Divisional Railway Managers (ADRMs) in all the railway division offices for better supervision.
· A Five Member Committee of senior officials of Railway Board to suggest measures for making substantial improvement in worksites safety over all Indian Railways network.
SPORTS
· Ministry of Railways felicitated Indian Railways Women Cricketers of Indian Women Cricket Team for their outstanding performance in Women World Cup 2017.It is a moment of great pride for Indian Railways that of the squad of 15 players of Indian Women Cricket Team, 10 Women Cricketers were from Indian Railways.
· Mirabai Chanu, Indian Railways Sportsperson, became the first Indian in over two decades to claim a gold medal at the World Weightlifting Championship in Anaheim, USA.
MOUs
· MoU between India and Switzerland on Technical Cooperation in Rail Sector
· Memorandum of Understanding signed between Rail Land Development Authority(RLDA) & IRCON International Limited for Redevelopment of Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station.
· India and Italy Sign an MOU for Technical Cooperation in Rail Sector Especially on Safety Related Subjects. MoU with Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane S.P.A. of Italy on Technical Cooperation in the Rail Sector.
· Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) / Memorandum of cooperation (MoC) with Foreign Ministries/Railways for Technical Cooperation in Railway Sector.
· Memorandum of Understanding with UNESCO, New Delhi for preparation of Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (CCMP) of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), UNESCO World Heritage Site. This will boost conservation of DHR and promote hill railway tourism.
· MoU between Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), an institution under Ministry of Railways and National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC), a PSU of Ministry of Urban Development regarding redevelopment of identified railway stations.
· MoU with Taiwan for bilateral cooperation in promoting rail heritage on both sides.
MISCELLANEOUS
· Century old Steam Loco EIR-21 (year built 1855) has been revived and steamed at Chennai.
· NG Steam Loco ZB-66 has been revived and steamed up at Kalka Shimla Section after a gap of several decades.
· Neki ki Rail” a seminar for improving the Railway’s social footprint and impacting society in a positive manner Organised by Ministry of Railways at National Rail Museum.
· Notification for setting up of Rail Development Authority (RDA) issued in May, 2017. In order to operationalise the Authority, process for appointment of Chairman and Members of the RDA has been initiated.
·
Promotion of Tribal /local Art at Stations: To showcase tribal/local art at stations, select tourist stations at 24 locations were identified and Zonal Railways concerned were requested for aesthetic up gradation of these stations with local/tribal art.
· The ‘
Fairy Queen’, the oldest surviving functional steam engine in the world commenced its journey from National Capital Delhi to Rewari, Haryana after a gap of 5 years. This train, which is a great attraction among steam engine lovers across the globe, will run between Delhi Cantt. Station and Rewari
***
Ministry of Railways29-December, 2017 17:00 IST
Operational Diesel and Electric Locomotives
Zone-wise details of total number of diesel and electric engines operational in the country are as under:
S. No.
Railway Zones
Diesel Engines
Broad Gauge(BG)
Metre Gauge(MG)
Narrow Gauge(NG)
Electric Engines Broad Gauge (BG)
1
Central
370
0
16
621
2
Eastern
397
0
04
274
3
East Central
356
02
0
417
4
East Coast
297
0
0
423
5
Northern
582
0
37
427
6
North Central
144
0
18
392
7
North Eastern
273
31
0
33
8
Northeast Frontier
415
0
6
0
9
North Western
287
20
0
0
10
Southern
351
05
0
459
11
South Central
582
0
0
606
12
South Eastern
339
0
0
686
13
South East Central
187
0
29
254
14
South Western
365
0
0
0
15
Western
497
38
26
402
16
West Central
426
0
0
596
GRAND TOTAL
5868
96
136
5590
Zonal Railways have been advised to provide Electric locomotives in newly electrified sections subject to operational feasibility and availability of electric locomotives.
Trains are run as per scheduled Time Table of Trains prepared on the basis of the sectional speed, design speed, trailing rolling stock, track geometry and other operational/commercial factors.
This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 29.12.2017 (Friday).
****
Ministry of Railways
29-December, 2017 16:58 IST
Increasing Unreserved Passenger Coaches In Railways
To cater to the needs of passengers of un-reserved segment following endeavours have been made by the Indian Railways:-
(i) As a matter of policy, it has been decided that all the Mail/Express trains (except fully reserved trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, etc.) introduced after 2007-08, shall have at least 6 general class coaches in their standard composition as per feasibility.
(ii) Operation of fully unreserved services like Jan Sadharan, Janseva, Jan Nayak Express etc. to facilitate un-reserved segment of passenger. In the Railway Budget 2016-17, it has been further announced to introduce Antyodaya Express, which are long-distance, fully unreserved, superfast train services. Accordingly, of the 11 pairs of Antyodaya trains decided to be introduced during the year 2016-17 and 2017-18, four (4) pairs of Antyodaya Express have already been introduced till date.
(iii) In pursuance of the announcements made in the Railway Budget 2016-17, regarding attachment of two to four Deen Dayalu coaches in some long distance trains for unreserved travel to enhance our carrying capacity for the masses, Indian Railways have inducted 321 Deen Dayalu coaches (General Class coaches) in 53 pairs of trains during the year 2016-17. Similarly, during the year 2017-18, 76 Deen Dayalu coaches are being utilized.
In addition to the above, during 2017-18 (till November, 2017) Indian Railways have also utilized about 137 General Class coaches for permanent augmentation of the loads of existing trains (which includes both Passenger and Express train services).
The passenger coaches plying over Indian Railways (IR) have been designed with the necessary safety features considering the operating conditions over IR. Linke Hoffman Busch (LHB) design coaches are of a superior design than Integral Coach Factory (ICF) type coaches and have better safety features like anti-climbing etc. It has been decided that only LHB coaches would be manufactured from April, 2018 onwards.
This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 29.12.2017 (Friday).
****
Ministry of Railways29-December, 2017 16:55 IST
Status of Track Renewal in Railways
Track renewal targets are fixed every year zone-wise. The details of track renewal target and actual renewal since 2014 onwards year-wise and zone-wise are as under:
Zonal Railway
2014-15
Target
Actual renewal
Central
200
205
Eastern
183
185
East Central
171
203
East Coast
62
60
Northern
385
383
North Central
130
152
North Eastern
68
45
Northeast Frontier
27
34
North Western
24
24
Southern
102
135
South Central
175
208
South Eastern
110
168
South East Central
102
107
South Western
102
96
Western
165
194
West Central
194
225
Total
2200
2424
2015-16
Target
Actual renewal
Central
220
185
Eastern
200
162
East Central
150
202
East Coast
110
116
Northern
390
387
North Central
150
164
North Eastern
90
80
Northeast Frontier
50
95
North Western
50
59
Southern
150
187
South Central
190
278
South Eastern
150
209
South East Central
120
119
South Western
110
118
Western
190
229
West Central
180
204
Total
2500
2794
2016-17
Target
Actual renewal
Central
220
195
Eastern
192
178
East Central
187
180
East Coast
103
119
Northern
532
281
North Central
166
111
North Eastern
78
81
Northeast Frontier
37
42
North Western
71
80
Southern
198
207
South Central
118
150
South Eastern
103
190
South East Central
174
123
South Western
105
117
Western
216
240
West Central
168
193
Total
2668
2487
2017-18
Target
Actual renewal (up to November 2017)
Central
275
115
Eastern
246
125
East Central
225
163
East Coast
243
122
Northern
615
246
North Central
192
92
North Eastern
105
57
Northeast Frontier
43
42
North Western
155
75
Southern
406
171
South Central
147
100
South Eastern
209
186
South East Central
161
83
South Western
170
96
Western
252
205
West Central
156
129
Total
3600
2007
All figures in kilometers of Complete Track Renewal (CTR) units
The details of funds allocated for track renewal since 2014 onwards, year-wise and zone-wise are as under:
Zonal Railway
Funds allocated for track renewal (₹ In Crore)
RE 2014-15
Central
372
Eastern
364
East Central
318.24
East Coast
160
Northern
650
North Central
330
North Eastern
145
Northeast Frontier
152
North Western
86
Southern
290
South Central
421
South Eastern
308
South East Central
326
South Western
160
Western
411
West Central
531
Total
5024.24
RE 2015-16
Central
427.70
Eastern
314.90
East Central
398.30
East Coast
217.30
Northern
616.64
North Central
376.20
North Eastern
141
Northeast Frontier
225.18
North Western
95.66
Southern
347.80
South Central
500.20
South Eastern
384.20
South East Central
283.28
South Western
181.48
Western
390.10
West Central
520.36
Total
5420.30
RE 2016-17
Central
515.70
Eastern
513.48
East Central
470
East Coast
229.05
Northern
780
North Central
433.02
North Eastern
212
Northeast Frontier
257.97
North Western
192.87
Southern
499.48
South Central
435.27
South Eastern
515
South East Central
277.51
South Western
255.54
Western
514
West Central
632.56
Total
6733.45
BE 2017-18
Central
808.66
Eastern
543.85
East Central
652.97
East Coast
738.92
Northern
1400.70
North Central
433.16
North Eastern
316.08
Northeast Frontier
258.90
North Western
442.03
Southern
1066.02
South Central
604.66
South Eastern
594.24
South East Central
382.09
South Western
386.01
Western
712.54
West Central
602.80
Total
9943.63
RE – Revised Estimates, BE – Budget Estimates
Track renewal is an ongoing process which is undertaken as and when a stretch of track becomes due for renewal on age/condition basis. Track Renewal works are planned in advance every year and their execution is prioritized according to the condition of track ensuring all the time that track is in a sound condition for safe running of trains. In case any stretch of track is not renewed in time due to various reasons, suitable speed restrictions, if required, are imposed to ensure safe running of trains. As on 01.04.2017,
track renewal covering 7546 km is sanctioned out of which 3600 km is targeted for the year 2017-18. Normally, track renewal works are completed in two to three years of sanction.
Replacement of all lever frames and Semaphore Signalling system with Electronic/Panel/Route Relay Interlocking (EI/PI/RRI) system and Multiple Aspect Colour Light Signalling (MACLS) are progressively being done on age cum condition basis. A total 235 Nos. of stations are remaining with Semaphore Signals as on 31.03.2017. These are likely to be replaced with MACLS with EI/PI/RRI in next three years.
This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 29.12.2017 (Friday).
****
Ministry of Railways
29-December, 2017 16:26 IST
Mechanized Cleaning System at Railway Stations
One of the initiatives taken to maintain cleanliness standard at station premises is introduction of mechanized cleaning at most of the stations over Indian Railways. The mechanized cleaning system is used for comprehensive cleaning of all platforms, circulating area, foot over bridges, retiring rooms, waiting rooms etc. in the stations premises where conducive surface like tiles/kota stone is available. The station cleaning activities are carried out through mechanized means by using High pressure water jets, mechanised floor scrubber, vacuum cleaner, flippers, Battery Operated Puch Scrubber, Battery operated Ride on Scrubber, High Pressure Jet, Wet & Dry vacuum cleaner, Ride Flipper etc. along with the requisite manpower. The activity is outsourced to professional agencies to maintain high standard of cleanliness on the Railway station and its premises. In order to have effective waste disposal system, concrete washable aprons on platform tracks with jet cleaning arrangements are provided at important stations where long distance trains stop in the morning hours, to facilitate cleaning of nightsoil by washing into side drains and its subsequent discharge away from stations.
This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 29.12.2017 (Friday).
****
Ministry of Railways29-December, 2017 16:24 IST
Websites/Portals of Ministry of Railways
At present, 42 websites are being hosted in Indian Railway Web Portal which is hosted and maintained by Ministry of Railways.
There is a separate website namely
www.coms.indianrailways.gov.in which handles the passenger complaint feedback, which provide the facilities to passengers to lodge complaint. The total number of complaints received since its inception are 3,70,974 .
Details of website name, website hits (average per day) along with URL are given below:-
S.No
Website Name
Website URL
Website Hits (Average per day)
1
Ministry of Railways Website
www.indianrailways.gov.in
1431472
2
Central Railway
www.cr.indianrailways.gov.in
35374
3
East Central Railway
www.ecr.indianrailways.gov.in
23295
4
East Cost Railway
www.eastcoasrailways.gov.in
17556
5
Eastern Railway
www.er.indianrailways.gov.in
37967
6
North Central Railway
www.ncr.indianrailways.gov.in
32097
7
North Eastern Railway
www.ner.indianrailways.gov.in
31350
8
North Frontier Railway
www.nfr.indianrailways.gov.in
15035
9
North Western Railway
www.nwr.indianrailways.gov.in
52059
10
Northern Railway
www.nr.indianrailways.gov.in
37730
11
South Central Railway
www.scr.indianrailways.gov.in
61540
12
South East Central Railway
www.secr.indianrailways.gov.in
13198
13
South Eastern Railway
www.ser.indianrailways.gov.in
26351
14
South Western Railway
www.swr.indianrailways.gov.in
22157
15
West Central Railway
www.wcr.indianrailways.gov.in
18093
16
Southern Railway
www.sr.indianrailways.gov.in
58747
17
Western Railway
www.wr.indianrailways.gov.in
40818
18
Kolkata Metro
www.mtp.indianrailways.gov.in
7883
19
Chittaranjan Loco Works
www.clw.indianrailways.gov.in
10369
20
Diesel Locomotive Works
www.dlw.indianrailways.gov.in
11569
21
Diesel Loco Modernistaion Works
www.dmw.indianrailways.gov.in
5366
22
Integral Coach Factory
www.icf.indianrailways.gov.in
16717
23
Rail Coach Factory
www.rcf.indianrailways.gov.in
28667
24
Rail Wheel Factory
www.rwf.indianrailways.gov.in
10974
25
Central Organization for Railway Electrification
www.core.indianrailways.gov.in
6326
26
Modern Coach Factory Raebareli
www.mcf.indianrailways.gov.in
4571
27
Rail Wheel Plant Bela
www.rwp.indianrailways.gov.in
3167
28
Mumbai vikas corportaion
www.mrvc.indianrailways.gov.in
3985
29
Rail Land Development Authority
www.rlda.indianrailways.gov.in
3211
30
Indian Railway Organization For Alternate Fuels
www.iroaf.indianrailways.gov.in
1521
31
Research Design & Standards Organization
www.rdso.indianrailways.gov.in
45614
32
Railway Rates Tribunal of India
www.rrt.indianrailways.gov.in
1206
33
Indian Railways Institute of Electrical Engineering
www.irieen.indianrailways.gov.in
3430
34
Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering
www.irimee.indianrailways.gov.in
5288
35
Indian Railway Institute of Civil Engineering
www.iricen.indianrailways.gov.in
1519
36
Indian Railway Institute of Transport Management
www.iritm.indianrailways.gov.in
3536
37
Indian Railway Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunication
www.iriset.indianrailways.gov.in
3889
38
National Academy of Indian Railways
www.nair.indianrailways.gov.in
5461
39
Institute of Rail Transport
www.irt.indianrailways.gov.in
1561
40
National Rail Museum
www.nrm.indianrailways.gov.in
1345
41
Darejeeling Himalyan Railway
www.dhr.indianrailways.gov.in
1205
42
Workshop Projects Organisation Patna
http://www.wpo.indianrailways.gov.in/
3379
For cleaning, linen and other related requests of passengers in train a site “cleanmycoach.com” is managed by respective Zonal Railways. On receipt of request through website or Short Messaging Service (SMS), a message is sent by the server to the mobile number. The On Board Housing Service (OBHS) assistance is also available to passengers through SMS. OBHS staff contacts the passenger and carries out the work as per demand. Till date nearly 1,49,000 service request has been received through this website as well as SMS.
A Customer Complaint Management Cell has been set up in Railway Board to receive complaints/assistance from passengers/rail users and public at large on Twitter handle of the Ministry, namely, @RailMinIndia, @PiyushGoyal, @PiyushGoyalOffc and Facebook page “Ministry of Railways, Government of India @RailMinIndia”. After analysing such tweets, the actionable once are sent to Zones/Divisions through their respective twitter handles for speedy resolution.
This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 29.12.2017 (Friday).
****
Ministry of Urban Development
29-December, 2017 18:53 IST
Flyover-cum-ROB at Narela to provide relief to Lakhs of people & ease traffic congestion - Hardeep Puri
Foundation stone laid Shri Hardeep Puri, Minister of State (I/C) for Housing and Urban Affairs has informed that the proposed Flyover-cum-ROB on Urban Extension Road-1(UER1) will provide the vital missing link and create connectivity on either side in UER-1, thereby providing relief to lakhs of people by easing traffic congestion and making traffic smoother and fast. It will also provide traffic safety near railway crossing. He was addressing a gathering at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Flyover-cum-ROB at Narela, New Delhi here today. Shri Anil Baijal, Lt.Governor of Delhi, Shri Udit Raj, Member of Parliament, Shri Durga Shankar Mishra, Secretary, M/o Housing & Urban Affairs, Shri Udai Pratap Singh, VC, Delhi Development Authority and senior officers of the Ministry were also present at the ceremony.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that this project of construction of Flyover-cum- Rail Over Bridge (RoB) on Urban Extension Road-I (UER-I) has been mooted at one of the busiest points which see frequent shut downs of traffic due to closing of level crossing on busy Delhi-Karnal Railway line and the presence of Grain Market (Anaj Mandi) as well as the FCI godowns near railway crossing. The Urban Extension Road-1 (UER-I) being constructed as per the provisions made under the Master Plan for Delhi 2021, has already been completed from NH I to Bawana except the stretch over FCI godowns and the railway line.
The cost of project is Rs. 437.21 crore, which includes Rs. 55.59 crore for construction of ROB. Project is being funded with a financial assistance of Rs. 349.77 crore (80% of cost ) from the Urban Development Fund and Rs 87.44 crore will be DDA’s own contribution. The construction of ROB is already in progress by the Railways. This Project is planned for completion in April 2019. When completed, this will be the widest flyover in Delhi with a width of 51m. This flyover-cum-ROB will have six lane carriage way, two bus lanes for BRT corridor and provision of footpath and cycle track, multi-utility zone for services.
This is one of the 05 projects approved for funding of Rs 643.58 crore through the Urban Development Fund by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs for handling congestion in Delhi. The other projects involving construction of flyovers, underpasses etc., are coming up at Mahipalpur, ITO, ISBT and Rani Jhansi Road. All these projects when completed will definitely go a long way in improving the facilities and quality of life of the people of Delhi.
*****
