railways – Rail Duniya

Don’t bite if you can’t chew.

10th Nov 201911th Nov 2019 Rail Duniya

24th February 1993 day of Railway Budget. On the same day, during the rail budget, the second class 3 tier sleeper and air conditioned 3 tier sleeper class were launched in the Indian Railways.

Earlier Indian Railways used to have second class 2 tier sleeper, in which second class seating was provided for passengers 24 hours and upper berths from 10 pm to 6 am. Everything was manual. Once the charting was done, the entire arrangement would go into the hands of TTE. TTE of the train used to be the Brahmadev of this system, only they knew where the berth and seat is vacant and who is entitled to sleep, well!

Since 1993, the Second sleeper Class 3 tier came into existence and the Second 2 Tier class was discontinued from the rail service. Since then, there has been no change in the mindset of the railway passengers. Even today, the season pass holders and short distance travellers consider sleeper class as old 2 tier. There are more unauthorised people in the coach than the people with ticket.

Actually the concept of the three-tier sleeper was that it would become a separate class, so that the passengers traveling long distances could travel comfortably.

The railway administration started to depolarize the concept of the sleeper class by inventing RAC tickets in its reservation system. Each reserved compartment, whether it is air conditioned or non air conditioned classes, has a side lower berth which can be opened and divided into two seats for two RAC passengers. These RAC passengers keep, circling for just a single confirmed berth behind the TTE like begani shaadi me Abdullah Deewana and unless a berth is vacant or a confirmed passenger cancels their journey accidentally after the chart is made, they can’t get a seat. I think, RAC passenger who cannot get a berth by paying the full fare and has to travel entire journey without sleeping is a direct injustice by the Railway administration.

From here starts the process of unauthorised, extra passengers in reserved coaches. RAC passengers, PRS waiting list passengers are trying to enter forcefully in the reserved compartment. And as if this is not sufficient, MST pass holders and the passengers traveling for the short distance completed the misery. Passage, upper berth, the space between two berths, at any place, these people are willing to travel even standing. Nobody cares about reserved and long distance passengers, not even the railway administration.

Every reserved compartment, even if it is not air-conditioned, should have TTE working on duty, and make sure that no extra passengers are boarding. The rules should be followed in a proper manner and instead of charging a penalty, the extra passenger should be evacuated from the compartment by taking legal action. It is the responsibility of the additional ticket issuing administration to accommodate the extra passenger. The passengers who booked long distance reserved tickets months in advance are not the ones who should suffer. Separate arrangements are necessary for MST holders.

All this provision will have to be done by the railway administration as soon as possible, otherwise the second class three tire sleeper will have no meaning.

Editorials, Magazine PDF

Rail Duniya E – Issue 1

10th Sep 201910th Sep 2019 Rail Duniya

Hello Members,

In this E Issue 1, we try to compile and present before you

Longest electrified tunnel on Indian Railways commissioned

6th Jul 2019 Rail Duniya

South Central Railway has commissioned the longest electrified tunnel, measuring 6.6 Kms between Cherlopalli and Rapuru stations and is part of the recently completed Obulavaripalli – Venkatachalam new railway line.

The tunnel has been completed in a record time of 43 months.

Two freight trains have successfully run on 25th June, 2019 marking the full-scale Operation of the newly built electrified railway line between the two stations, thereby opening up viable rail connectivity between Krishnapatnam Port and its hinterland for Goods train services, South Central Railway (SCR) said in a statement.

Completion of this tunnel has enabled Railways to start freight operations on this important railway line, which has reduced the distance between Krishnapatnam Port and hinterland areas by 60 kms. At present, the average travel time taken by goods train from Krishnapatnam Port to Obulavaripalli is 10 hrs. On the newly commissioned line, the travel time gets reduced to about 5 hours.

The construction of this tunnel paved the way to operate freight trains in Obulavaripalli – Venkatachalam – Krishnapatnam Port new railway line for a distance of 113 Kms. The section is now notified for commercial freight operations as well.

Salient Features of Tunnel

Located between Cherlopalli to Rapuru stations and constructed in shape of ‘Horse Shoe’.

New Australian Tunneling Method(NATM) is used and the cost incurred is Rs.460 crores

Length of the tunnel is 6, 660 mts and is in straight alignment.

The height of tunnel (rail level to roof) is 6.5 meters and the minimum height of contact wire is maintained at 5.2 meters.

Ballast less Track is constructed with Bi-block sleepers and Vaslo fittings

Full length lining is provided with 300 mm thickness

Two nos. of traction power supply substations are provided near Cherlopalli and near Adurupalli with necessary switching stations in between.

OHE maintenance depot is provided at Rapuru along with tower-car shed.

LED lighting provided at 10 m intervals inside the tunnel.

Conventional OHE has been provided with a maximum span of 36 m and maximum tension length of 1206 m. Brackets for supporting OHE have been fixed on wall mounted type plate fittings, which are fixed to the tunnel lining concrete.

Spring type Auto Tensioning Device (ATD) of South Korean make is adopted in place of conventional type ATD for maintaining necessary tension in OHE wires, for the first time in SCR.

Fail safe earthing arrangements are provided for safety of personnel working in tunnel.

This longest electrified tunnel is pivotal in the new railway line between Venkatachalam and Obulavaripalli and is a game changer in the freight operations of the zone.

This new line facilitates direct & viable connectivity between South Coast and West Coast and enhances the freight basket of South Central Railway.

It is a matter of pride for the zone to have such remarkable structure. The newly constructed railway line is also helpful for decongestion of traffic on Vijayawada – Gudur Main line, said Gajanan Mallya, General Manager, SCR.

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News source : Zee News

Pictures : Times of India

Editorials, Uncategorised

The Dark Night on Millennium Express

12th Apr 201912th Apr 2019 Rail Duniya

Read this article in Hindi : https://wp.me/pajx4R-7h

Railways has an unbreakable relationship in the lives of the Indian people, as a companion of our joys and sorrows . Millions of people use the railway to go to their destination. Overall, there is no other appropriate alternative to the railway for daily short distance commuters in India.

Today, out of blue, a letter from the teacher of the Pharmacy College, Gwalior was found in old records, an appreciation letter. The letter reminisced many old memories. It is an old yet thrilling story.

In those days there was neither twitter nor Facebook account of the railway and you couldn’t contact with railway officials directly. It would have been around two o’clock in the morning, the landline phone of Rail Duniya rang. The person on the other end was speaking in hushed voice, “Sir, I apologize for troubling you at midnight, but please help us”

The story follows, the person who called up, was a teacher of Pharmacy College of Gwalior . They were returning from Ooty to Gwalior with their students, from the educational tour. There were about 25 reservations in the sleeping compartment, second coach from the engine and the adjacent boggie was unreserved general. A large crowd of passengers traveling towards Sabarimala climbed in the coach and some goons started frightening the people in the compartment. It was the night time, the group was facing problem due to language barrier, and there were no railway officials neither the RPF nor the TTE in the couches. The chains for emergency stopping the train were not working.

The teacher had made every possible effort. He talked to them, prayed to them and even offered to share half of their seats and let the girls adjust in the remaining place. But the people were now harassing the teacher and the students.

The train was Millennium Express and our passengers were from Coimbatore. All of his reserved places had already filled up from Ernakulam. These people boarded the train but we already told you the scene of what was happening.

In the night, the people tried to call the local police, but got no help. Then desparate and distressed, they got the telephone number of our office from our magazine Rail Duniya.

It was the time of action for Railduniya. At 2.30 am, when the call came, we immediately gave the mobile number of the zonal commissioner of the RPF of the South Central Railway Zone. The train had already entered South Central Railway from Southern Railway Zone.

We informed the Commissioner was about the circumstances. He took the position of train immediately and alerted the RPF office on the route. They were asked to go with full preparation and provide security to the passengers, as well as to give all updates to the headquarters.

Then you will be amazed at what the railway security force did. After the train stopped at Katpadi station, the RPF team surrounded the whole compartment and forcefully opened the doors, entered inside and took those goons and secured our passengers, put them in their places. And not so much, a team of four RPF was also deployed on Duty with our passengers in the coach with them till Gwalior.

It is unusual, sometimes, experiences one might have to go through in the journey are not very good. Well, it is story of old days, today the railway department has become very responsive and alert towards security. Armed police are also present in the trains and at stations.

The above story is a true phenomenon. Rail Duniya is always in your service.

Railways helpline number is 182.

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Do share your thoughts and this article with the ones who you think will find it worth reading.

Regards

Rail Duniya

Uncategorised

Pamban Bridge – The scenic beauty to be replaced soon.

13th Jan 201920th Jan 2019 Rail Duniya

Yes, the travel destination of many of us, the Pamban Bridge which connects Rameswaram to mainland India is soon going to be replaced by a new technology driven vertical lift bridge.

Before, we actually see in the video, how the new bridge is going to work, lets read about pamban bridge.

Pamban Bridge is a railway bridge which connects the town of Rameswaram on Pamban Island to mainland India. Opened on 24 February 1914, it was India’s first sea bridge, and was the longest sea bridge in India until the opening of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in 2010.

Until 1988, the Pamban bridge was the only surface transport that connected Tamil Nadu’s island of Rameswaram to the mainland. In 2018, the bascule of this bridge was damaged. This damage ended the transportation on the bridge.

In 1988, a road bridge was also constructed parallel to the rail bridge. This road bridge is also known as Indira Gandhi Road Bridge. The Pamban Road Bridge connects the National Highway (NH 49) with the Rameswaram island. It stands on the Palk Strait and between the shores of Mandapam (a place on the Indian mainland) and Pamban (one of the fishermen town in Rameswaram island).

The rail bridge is, for the most part, a conventional bridge resting on concrete piers, but has a double-leaf bascule section midway, which can be raised to let ships and barges pass through. As can be seen in the video.

However, the 104-year-old which has a total length of 2,058 m bridge shall be soon replaced as the Railways plans to build the country’s first vertical-lift bridge that will make way for ships and steamers to pass through has already been approved by the Ministry.

The more than two-kilometre-long bridge, which is likely to cost Rs 250 crore, will have a 63-metre stretch which will lift up while remaining parallel to the deck to allow access to the ships, the official said.

Here is the video which shows how the new bridge shall work.

It will be ready in the next four years, and along with the new railway link between Rameswaram in Pamban Island and Dhanuskodi, which is considered the starting point of Ram Setu, will help ferry thousands of pilgrims from the Hindu religious site to the mainland.

A cyclone had destroyed the rail link between the two sites in 1964 and since then, this is the first effort to restore the link, the official said.

The new bridge will have 100 spans of 18.3m and one navigational span of 63m.

It will be three-metre higher than the existing bridge with navigational air clearance of 22 metre above sea level. Because of the vertical lift, full horizontal width of 63m will be available for navigation.

In comparison to existing manual operation and control, the new bridge will have electro mechanical controlled systems which will be interlocked with train control systems. Many other new technologies like stainless steel reinforcement, composite sleepers and long life painting system to name a few have been considered in planning of the bridge.

So, why wait, just don’t miss the opportunity to experience the joy of travelling on the train over a sea. As the new bridge is going to be taller and ” Samandar aur aapke beech ka fasla aur jyada ho jaynenga Yatriyon……”.

References and credit :

Video Courtesy : Financial Express Youtube
Content reference Financial express and Wikipedia.
Picture courtesy : Google images

Pic 1 https://www.theweek.in/webworld/features/lifestyle/Discover-the-less-explored-pamban-island.html

Pic 2 : https://www.pinterest.com/pin/120752833737231048