RAILWAY SAMACHAR

Demand for Freight corridor till Amritsar

Amritsar : Local BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu today donned black clothes to lead about 500 slogan shouting activists to press for their demand to extend the Calcutta-Ludhiana Industrial and Freight Corridor to this holy city. Men clad inblack, led by Mr Sidhu, gathered at railway platform three due to which Amritsar-Ludhiana train was delayed by over one hour today. The activists shouted anti-Sonia, anti-Congress and anti-UPA slogans to pressfor extension of the corridor, which is scheduled to be inaugurated by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi tomorrow at Rohtas in Bihar. ''If the corridor can come up till Ludhiana, why can't it be extended to Amritsar to boost the economy ofborder areas, which are already suffering due to under-development. In addition, the volume of trade through Wagah-Attari border to Pakistan would also increase,'' he said. Moreover, Amritsar, being closest Indian International Airport to West Asia, the extension of industrial freight corridor would also boost exports to that region, Mr Sidhu said. ''Ignoring all these vital facts shows that either the Centre is short sighted or was intentionally ignoring the interests of the City, Punjab and the nation in the long run,'' he said adding that it was a pity that the city was suffering ''injustice'' even though the Prime Minister hailed from here. The BJP leader assured the people of the city that if the NDA were votedto power, he would ensure that the corridor was extended till the holy city.

NR : Yearly Inspection

ANNUAL INSPECTION OF ST. JOHN'S AMBULANCE, NORTHERN RAILWAY HELD AT DAYABASTI, DELHI

New Delhi : The Annual Inspection of Northern Railway St. John's Ambulance District No.1 was held at RPF Parade Ground, Dayabasti, Delhi yesterday (i.e. on 08.02.2009) Dr. R. N. Tripathi Addl. Commissioner/Medical & Chief Medical Director, Northern Railway unfurled the flag and took the salute of the parade. Around 1600 Officers and Members of the St. John's Ambulance Organization participated inthe parade to the tunes on National Integration played by the RPF band. Dr. Tripathi also presented Trophies and awards to the best performing Brigades/Divisions. The participants presented drills on Disaster Management, First Aid Skills & Pulse Polio Immunization Programmes. Northern Railway's St.John Ambulance brigade is affiliated to the St.John Ambulance Organization in India, which is an autonomous voluntary body imparting instructions on first aid, home nursing and allied subjects. The organization also imparts training in providing first aid in cases of accidents or sudden illness and in the transport besides instructions on the elementary principles and practices of nursing and hygiene, especially that of the sick room. Presently, Northern Railway has 31 Ambulance Brigades, 7 Nursing Divisions & 2 Cadet Divisions.

HYB : Nine bogies of goods train derail; rail traffic disrupted

Hyderabad : Nine bogies of a goods train derailed at Jangoan Railway Station in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh Monday, disrupting traffic on the Secunderabad-Kazipet route of South Central Railway. The incident occurred this morning when a goods train with empty wagons was proceeding towards Kazipet from the state capital. Several trains were either cancelled or diverted from different places following the derailment, a SCR release said. Five trains were cancelled and 17 others including Satavahana Express, Bhagyanagar Express, Charminar Express, Garib Rath Express, East Coast Expresses and Sampark Kranthi Express have been diverted, it said.

Trains cancelled for the day are: Secunderabad- Guntur-Secunderabad Intercity express, Secunderabad-Sirpur Kagazngar Telangana express, Kazipet-Hyderabad-Warangal passengers, Secunderabad-Dornakal Kakatiya passenger and Secunderabad-Repalle Delta passenger. Repair work was on to restore the traffic on the route, a report from Warangal quoting railway sources said.