RAILWAYS TO RUN SHRI RAMAYANA EXPRESS FROM NOVEMBER
New Delhi, July 10: Under the guidance of Hon’ble Minister of Railways & Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal, IRCTC, the tourism wing of Ministry of Railways will run a special tourist train associated with the story of Lord Shri Ram from the famous Indian epic Ramayana in the name of “Shri Ramayana Express”.
Shri Ramayana Express will be flagged off on 14th November, 2018 from Delhi Safdarjung railway station. The train will cover all important destinations associated with the life of Lord Shri Ram in a 16 days all inclusive tour package which is spread both in the countries of India as well as Sri Lanka in which 4 destinations will be covered. The all inclusive tour package will cover all meals, accommodation and wash and change facilities in dharmashalas, all transfers, sight-seeing arrangements and dedicated tour manager of IRCTC who will be travelling with the tourists during the entire tour.
Named as Shri Ramayana Yatra-Sri Lanka, the pilgrimage circuit will have two travel components – one each in India and Sri Lanka. After leaving Delhi, the train will make its first stop in Ayodhya followed by Hanuman Garhi Ramkot and Kanak Bhawan temple. The train will then cover the important destinations of Ramayana circuit such as Nandigram, Sitamarhi, Janakpur, Varanasi, Prayag, Shringverpur, Chitrakoot, Nasik, Hampi and Rameshwaram.
The Ramayana Express train will have an overall capacity for 800 passengers. Attractively priced at only Rs. 15,120/- per person, the tour package will is going to be a favourite pick for the tourists aspiring for the same. The Sri Lanka leg of the tour will be charged separately. The passengers opting for Sri Lanka leg of the Ramayana Yatra package can take a flight to Colombo from Chennai. IRCTC presently offers 5-night/6-day Sri Lanka tour package at a cost starting from Rs 36,970/- per person. The tour package will cover destinations like Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Colombo and Negombo.
The online booking of Shri Ramayana Express will be made live shortly on IRCTC’s website www.irctctourism.com . The bookings of the train will also be done by the 27 Tourist Facilitation Centres of IRCTC spread across the country.
IRCTC is also operating an AC Tourist Train from 28th August to 9th September 2018 on the Ramayana Circuit from Trivandrum offering an all inclusive tour package starting from Rs. 39,800/- onwards covering Panchavati, Chitrakoot, Shringverpur, Tulsi Manas Mandir, Darbhanga, Sita Marhi, Ayodhya and Rameshwaram.
और आप को हैरानी होगी कि जो बजट एलोकेशन है वह भी हमारे समय में बढ़ा है पश्चिम बंगाल में और कई सारे प्रोजेक्ट जो अटके हुए हैं उसको भी हमने गति दी है| अभी-अभी मैं रिव्यू कर रहा था जो प्रोजेक्ट काफी टाइम से बढ़ नहीं पा रहे हैं उसमें मालूम पड़ा कि जो एयरपोर्ट से न्यू बैरकपुर में मेट्रो बढ़ानी है उसके लिए हमारे को 2000 नंबर एन्क्रोचमेंट न्यू बैरकपुर से बरासत के बीच में हटाने का काम नहीं हो पा रहा है, 33,000 स्क्वायर मीटर लैंड एक्वायर करके सरकार ने देनी है| 86 बिल्डिंग्स का प्रॉब्लम है, 30 हेक्टेयर प्राइवेट लैंड कार डेपो के लिए चाहिए| तो ऐसे हर एक चीज़ में कुछ न कुछ संकट है जिस के लिए हमें राज्य सरकार की मदद चाहिए होगी|
Q: तो इसके लिए आप राज्य सरकार से बात करेंगे सर?
A: हमारा रेगुलर चीफ सेक्रेटरी से अभी-अभी चेयरमैन रेलवे बोर्ड ने बात भी की थी. We have requested them to speed up these projects.
Q: Sir land is the major problem in West Bengal, do you feel so?
A: I don’t know. You should know better than me.
Q: Sir, the central government has set a target of 175 GW of solar power generation?
A: No. 100 GW solar power, 175 total renewable energy.
Q: Sorry, total renewable power by 2022, West Bengal has been given a target to generate some 5336 MW by 2022 on solar power. As of now, our state has achieved only about 70 to 80 MW, it’s 2019 almost?
A: Well, you know the position of your state better than I know.
Q: Did you fix any deadline for the completion of metro projects?
A: How can I fix any deadline if you don’t give me the right of way and land? We cannot fix any deadline without the right of way and land.
Q: Sir what about the East-West Metro?
A: On East-West Metro also, the alignments and all have been changed, which have completely changed the structure and the costing of the East-West corridor. Despite that, we are hopeful of completing one section, which is the elevated section of 7.5 kilometers from RAMP section to Sector 5 in March 2019. So that 7 kilometer section, elevated viaduct, we are hoping to complete. In the other section, which is underground, we had a lot of difficulty, because we could not get the alignment cleared and the right of way and all of that has been changed.
Q: Sir is there a chance to start the metro, Sector 5 to Salt Lake stadium on October 2nd?
A: We can ask them to try to do that by October.
Q: Sir, did you mention about the long term infra bonds?
A: I have just made a suggestion to a leading bank to consider some such proposals, so that long term financing can be available for long gestation projects.
Q: Sir how much do you propose to raise?
A: अभी तो एक फ़ोन कॉल किया है भईया. It’s just an idea, a thought that has been seeded. No further discussions have been held.
Q: Sir, ideally, how much would you like to raise?
A: Sky is the limit.
Q: Sir, Amit Mitra has recently alleged that the increased frequency of this, in GST the hawala transaction has increased in number?
A: They should stop it immediately in the state of West Bengal. I wish Mr Amit Mitra would act quickly in the state of West Bengal to stop all these illegal transactions.
Q: What is the portion of financing is coming from banks for infrastructure?
A: All good projects will get financing.
Q: No, what from banking sector, because there are long-term bonds which you have proposed?
A: I have not proposed. I have just seeded an idea. Nothing has been finalized. I was talking to a group of people that we are all the time thinking of new ideas.
Q: Sir for the Noapara-Barasat metro project; will you ask the state government to remove those encroachments?
A: Of course, we have already written to them and we will write again a letter after my visit. Please address a letter to the Chief Secretary.
Q: सर कोलकाता मेट्रो में अभी जितने भी रेक चल रहे हैं उसमें ज़्यादातर रेक पुराने हो चुके हैं और नया जो रेक आया हुआ है, पिछले एक साल से पड़ा हुआ है पब्लिक चढ़ नहीं पा रही है?
A: Once the trails… it has to be all the safety parameters have to be fulfilled. After we get the approval from Commissioner of Rail Safety they can start it.
Q: Sir what about the punctuality, because Howrah I am sure the division is the most efficient and busiest division in our state but the punctuality level is very much poor?
A: The punctuality is poor because former Railway Ministers and former governments did not invest in upgrading the infrastructure. They kept making political announcements without adequate capital to invest, and therefore, instead of completing projects in time and having right amount of trains running on each line, the entire network has got overloaded and some sections are running at 150% capacity, some are running at 180% capacity. So sadly, governments before 2014 and Railway Ministers, illustrious Railway Ministers before 2014 only made political announcements but never backed it up with capital, because of which less amount of money was spread over so many projects, nothing was getting completed. And the entire railway infrastructure we received in legacy in 2014 was in a very-very serious state of disorderly development.
Q: Sir Dr Amit Mitra has also alleged that the exporters are not getting the GST refunds?
A: I think Dr Amit Mitra should by now be very well aware that from 31st May to 16th June, we had a fortnight in which everybody was requested to come and take their refunds. Most refunds have been cleared, whoever applied has all been cleared, exporters were given the easy way of self-certification if their refund was less than 10 lakhs, and a chartered accountant certificate if it was more than 10 lakhs and refunds have been cleared. So I am sure the state government is very well aware of this.
Ends.
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mission to transform the Indian Railways is not confined to the bells and whistles such as fancy amenities in coaches. Changes are happening even in the aging, colonial-era infrastructure that not only looks shabby but also creates safety challenges. Below are 10 major ways the railway infrastructure is being transformed:
Railways is connecting India at a faster pace with a 59% increase in the average pace of commissioning new lines from 4.1 km (2009-14) to 6.53 Kms per day (2014-18).
1) Avoiding Collision
Remember the Kushinagar accident in which 13 schoolchildren were killed after their van collided with a passenger train at an unmanned railway crossing in Uttar Pradesh? To avoid such accidents, the railways has been working to eliminate all unmanned level crossings (UMLCs) by March 31, 2020. In the last four years, the national transporter has eliminated more than 5,500 unmanned crossings. Recently it announced that 11,545 kilometers of broad gauge lines falling under four railway zones have been made free of UMLCs.
2) On the right track
The railways has been replacing its aging tracks to increase safety. It has claimed that there is 50 per cent increase in rail track renewal from 2,926 kilometers in 2013-14 to 4,405 kilometers in 2017-18. The commissioning of the new lines is also being done at a faster pace, it says.”Railways is connecting India at a faster pace with a 59% increase in the average pace of commissioning new lines from 4.1 km (2009-14) to 6.53 Kms per day (2014-18),” the public transporter claims. The allocation of mega blocks for repair of tracks is one of the reasons behind several trains running late and many cancellations. “Punctuality in the short-term has been impacted due to giving priority to infrastructure and safety works but in the long-term this would enable faster and safer train movement,” railways has said.
3) Foot overbridges
The railways has included foot overbridges (FOBs) in its list of safety items. It claims that there is 221% increase in the construction of (FOBs) per year from 23 per year during 2009-14 to 74 during 2014-18. It has built three FOBs at Elphinstone Road-Parel, Curry Road, and Ambivalli in Mumbai with the help of Indian Army. The public transporter also claims that there is a three-time increase in average construction of road overbridges/road underbridges/subways per year from 415 per year between 2004 and 2014 to 1,220 per year between 2014 and 2018.
4) Out of the fog
No more train delays and accidents due to fog. Last December, the railways had distributed over 500 GPS-enabled FOG PASS devices to loco pilots to run trains smoothly in foggy weather. The device displays a map of tracks, signals, stations and level crossings and alerts loco pilot 500 meters ahead, helping him increase or decrease the speed of the train.
5) Modern signalling system
The railways has invested Rs 1,299 crore to improve signalling system during 2017-18. The new system eliminates the need for manual signalling. The new automated system reduces congestion in the rail network, improves punctuality by increasing line capacity, and gives real-time information on train movements. The transporter had also provided state-of-the-art electronic interlocking system at 208 stations in 2017-18 which is 26 per cent higher than 2016-17, it claims. Railways Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the railways would bring the most modern European train control system tech in India and implement it across the country.
6) Water-proof engine
Flooded tracks during rains stall local trains every year. Normally, four inches of water can bring a locomotive engine to halt and force the train to stay put until the water recedes. However, the modified water-proof engine can wade in through 12 inches of water. Central Railways will use the engine to move the local and long-distance trains that get stuck on tracks due to water-logging.
7) Ticketing and catering
The transporter has so far installed 9,100 point of sale (POS) machines at about 4,000 locations including rail ticket counters to promote cashless transactions. To improve catering services, it has upgraded 16 base kitchens in 2017-18.
8) Airport-like station
The railways is working towards giving a complete makeover to high-footfall stations. While the revamped stations will feature local art and culture in the design, they will also have modern facilities such as escalators, lifts, subways, ramps, AC VIP lounge, AC waiting room and rest rooms and shopping malls on the lines of modern airports. 68 stations are slated for improvement by March 2019. 60 have already been beautified using local arts. As proposed in Budget, a total of 600 stations may get a makeover. Over 40 per cent of redevelopment work of Madhya Pradesh’s Habibganj railway station has already been completed to make it a model airport-like railway station.
9) Swachh rail
Dirty platforms and tracks are becoming a thing of past. The railways had started Swachh Railways mission to promote cleanliness in and around the stations. Punjab’s Beas and Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam have been ranked the cleanest among 407 stations. The railways has now integrated mechanised cleaning system at 488 stations and plans to extend it to all suburban and major stations by March 2019. It has also started using an automatic rail-mounted machine to keep its tracks at platforms clean. The machine is currently being used in Delhi and the system will be replicated across India. To tackle careless cleaning by housekeeping contractors, a feedback-based payment method has been started. The feedback/rating will be collected from passengers and payments to the contractor will be made accordingly.
10) Connecting the unconnected
Boosting PM Modi’s ‘Act East Policy’, the railways has given a connectivity boost to Northeast India. It has converted entire NE rail network to broad gauge. Railways now also connects Meghalaya’s Dudhnoi and Mendipathar, Tripura’s Kumarghat and Agartala, and Mizoram’s Kathakal and Bhairabi. Work on 1,397 kilometers of new rail line project costing Rs 51,428 crore is in progress.
Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/railways/how-aging-creaking-crumbling-railways-is-getting-a-new-life/articleshow/64852991.cms
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