Tag Archives: Indian Railways

The Indian Railways is all set to start ‘Panj Takht Express’ from January 14, 2019, which will link the five takhts (temporal seats) of Sikhs — Akal Takht in Amritsar, Takht Kesgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib, Takht Damdama Sahib in Talwandi Sabo near Bathinda, Takht Hazur Sahib at Nanded and Takht Patna Sahib in Patna. With 800 seats in three-tier air-conditioned coaches, the train will complete the journey in 9 nights and 10 days. Costing Rs 15,750 per head, the pilgrims taking the tour would be lodged in hotels or gurudwaras.

In the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for creating digital museums at stations using QR code, Ministry of Railways has recently made ‘digital screens’ operational at 22 stations as an innovative low-cost solution to spread awareness among public about the heritage of Indian Railways. Being initiated on a pilot basis, the project aims at showcasing the legacy of Indian Railways through one to two minute-long movie clips on digital LED screens at the entrance gate of railway stations and also at different comfort areas. The short films will showcase heritage buildings, locomotives and much more to make people aware of the rich heritage of Indian Railways. For now, the screens have been set up at New Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Howrah, Sealdah, Jaipur, Agra Cantonment, Coimbatore, Lucknow, Varanasi and other railway stations. In addition, QR code based posters on Railway Heritage are also being displayed at these stations. Passenger can scan the QR code on their mobile to view a streaming video on their mobile on various facades of Railway heritage.  

Revenues from Indian Railways are estimated to reach to US$ 44.5 billion by the end of FY20, according to a recent report by Ministry of Railways. Indian Railways’ revenues increased at a CAGR of 9.66 per cent to US$ 27.71 billion during FY07-18. Revenue during April-May 2018 stood at Rs 28,349.29 crore (US$ 4.40 billion). Indian Railways has undertaken various measures to boost revenues including passenger earnings, freight earnings, parcel earnings, among others.

Just like air travel, now rail travellers will also have to pay for carrying excess luggage in trains.  Indian Railways has decided to strictly enforce its over-three-decades-old baggage allowance rules, which allows railways to penalise the travellers with six times penalty over the stipulated amount, if caught travelling with overweight luggage. According to rules, a sleeper class and a second-class passenger can carry luggage weighing 40 kg and 35 kg respectively without paying any extra money and a maximum of 80 kg and 70 kg respectively by paying for the excess luggage at the parcel office. The national transporters will also ensure that luggage size adhere to the prescribed measurements of 100cm x 60cm x 25cm (length, breadth, height). “The rules were already in place, we are just enforcing them strictly now. If a passenger is found travelling with un-booked luggage weighing more than the free allowance, the excess weight will be charged six times the luggage rate,” Railways said. “The move is to ensure passenger convenience and address the issue of cramped compartments, it said. However, unlike airports, where the each luggage is weighed, railways will carry out random checks inside the trains.  For example, if a passenger is travelling 500 km with luggage weighing 80 kg in the sleeper class, he can book his excess baggage of 40 kg for Rs 109 in the luggage van. Source- The Economic Times 

The Indian Railways has put an ambitious target towards augmenting rail infrastructure, earmarking investment of Rs 856,000 crore between 2015-16 and 2019-20. Network decongestion and expansion, and safety comprise 60 per cent share of the overall capital expenditure. The capital investment on infrastructure creation is expected to sustain at high levels on the back of long-term financing via Life Insurance Corporation of India, funding by multilateral agencies, and building relationships and partnering with the private sector. Over the last three years, 33 per cent of the total capital investment was towards construction of new lines, track renewal works, gauge conversion and safety works. Likewise, broad gauge line and electrification projects gather momentum. The commissioning of both in the last three years almost doubled, from 1,500 km during 2008-09 to 2013-14 to 3,000 km in 2016-17 for broad gauge, and 1,100 km to 2,000 km for electrification.

Foreign tourists will reportedly be able to book train tickets 360 days in advance from abroad instead of the present 120 days. The booking service will be available for first AC, second AC and executive class of mail express trains and in Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Gatimaan and Tejas trains (it is not applicable for sleeper and third AC). Foreigners are also not allowed to book tickets in Suvidha trains that cater to last minute travel planners. This move would allow foreigners to book tickets online using credit or debit cards. They would be required to give visa details, passport and international mobile numbers while booking through the IRCTC ticketing site. A service charge of INR200 will be levied by IRCTC. Besides announcing this facility for foreigners, railways will also launch an integrated mobile application for passengers shortly. The app will offer facilities of booking tickets, retiring rooms, taxis, porters, ordering food and inquiry service among others.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has inaugurated new free Wi-Fi facility across 28 stations of Konkan Railway along with improved amenities at the Kudal and Chiplun stations. Konkan Railway has tied up with the network provider Joister to provide free Wi-Fi at its stations. Unlimited free Wi-Fi will be provided from Kolad to Madure in the initial phase with a peer to peer speed of 2 mbps. The larger stations will be able to provide access to 300 users whilst the smaller stations will be able to sustain a 100 users. The network covers the station entrance and surrounding area. The scheme has been launched in line with the Government’s Digital India campaign and Joister has undertaken the project of providing free Wi-Fi to the rural area along the Konkan route as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility. According to the statement, “This facility will help commuters and tourists on Konkan Railway to access essential information and they could use their time productively while waiting for trains at railway stations.”

Indian Railways has introduced the new high speed Tejas express between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Mumbai and Karmali in Goa. The train was flagged off by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on May 22 on its inaugural journey to Goa. The train is equipped with many modern facilities such as on-board infotainment, Wi-Fi, CCTV, coffee and tea vending machines, etc. It is a state-of-the-art train with an average operating speed of 130 kmph and a maximum running speed of 200 kmph. The train sports a reasonable fare that extends between 1155-2680 inr and it will operate five times a week during the non-monsoon period and three days a week during the monsoon period. The express has also introduced some new amenities for passenger such as bio-vacuum toilets, sensor taps and a GPS-based passenger information display system and a digital destination board has also been installed for the convenience of the passengers. The train will have automatic doors and is wrapped with a special graffiti proof vinyl that gives the train its distinctive orange and yellow colour. The express train is also expected to be pressed into service in the Delhi-Lucknow and Delhi-Chandigarh sectors according to the railways.

In a bid to transform the face of Indian Railways, Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu launched the first Phase of the World’s largest station redevelopment program comprising 23 major railway stations on Indian railways network. Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Krishan Pal Gurjar was present to grace the occasion. Chairman, Railway Board, A.K. Mital, Member Engineering, Railway Board, Aditya Kumar Mittal, Member Traffic, Railway Board, Mohd. Jamshed and other Board Members and other distinguished guests were present to grace the occasion. Prabhu said that the Railways have certain advantages out of which one is holding of land on a large scale. He said that Railway Stations is a place where lots of people wait to board a train and thus Railway Station can be developed into an iconic property.

Starting December, Indian Railways plans to test-run three luxury coaches with glass ceilings, one on a route in the Kashmir valley and the other two in the Araku Valley in South India. In a bid to attract wealthy tourists, the coaches will have chairs that can rotate, have extra leg space and high-tech infotainment systems, informed A.K. Manocha, Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). “There are some trains with glass ceiling(s) in foreign countries like Switzerland, which enjoy the patronage of tourists. We believe such coaches would also give a fillip to rail tourism in India,” Manocha said. The move is a part of the government’s attempt to revamp the massive transport system. Dham Ghaj Prasad, Group General Manager, IRCTC explained the coaches with glass top ceiling would be the first of its type in India. “Work on the project started in 2015 with a series of meetings on the specification of the coach design. The first such coach is all set to roll out this month (October) itself. The coaches will be ultra luxurious with rotatable chairs to provide the passengers an aerial view through partly glass ceiling,” he elaborated. Estimated at Rs 4 crore per glass-topped coach, the project spending is estimated around $17 billion (Rs1.21 lakh crore) this fiscal towards this revamp. The Indian Railways this year also announced plans to offer wi-fi hotspots at 100 stations and improve its services via smartphone apps.