RAILWAY SAMACHAR

Thane railway station's makeover

would be looked into : GM/CR

MUMBAI : BB Modgil, the General Manager (GM) of the Central Railway (CR) visited Thane station last weekend to check the station's presentstate. He was accompanied by railway officials like divisional railway manager JN Lal, senior divisional commercial manager Kamal Jain, divisional security commissioner SK Pahri and officials of Thane station.During his visit, Modgil inspected the toilets near platform 10A, the areas between the platforms and the booking counters and said that the station's makeover would be looked into. The GM also met several members of organisations that have pressurised thestation authorities to put up a FOB and met their demands. While he did not makeany promises, he assured them that they have been speaking to the union railway board to put Thane in their plans in the next budget. In the railway budget that was presented in February, Thane station was nottaken into consideration. This was a blow to the Central Railway authorities andthe commuters who had demanded that Thane station be cleaned up and anadditional Foot Over Bridge be added in its premises. Interestingly, the GM's visit is the first visit made by a GM in nearly 27years. Commuters are hopeful that the station authorities will at least gettheir act together in keeping the railway station premises clean.

NFR : Two bison crushed under trains

JALPAIGURI : Two bison were run over by two speeding trains at the Chapramari wildlife sanctuary early on Thursday morning. The carcasses, that werehurled several yards away from the tracks, have been sent for post-mortem. Forest officials blamed the railways for violating the speed limit that has beenset for trains running through North Bengal sanctuaries. An FIR has been lodged against the railway authorities with Nagrakata police.At around 3 am, the first bison was hit by a Guwahati-bound train. Within acouple of hours, another had been run over by a New Jalpaiguri-bound train. "Despite repeated reminders and accidents, the railways never bother to stick tothe speed limit. In this case, too, both trains were running faster than the permissible speed limit. We have lodged an FIR and complained to the North-East Frontier Railway authorities," said Silvant Patel, chief conservator of forests, wild life, north Bengal.

Mysore Maharaja to develop

Kabini rail bridge as tourist site

New Delhi : With the aim to conserve and promote heritage properties, Indian Railways is joining hands with Maharaja of Mysore to develop the 270-year-old Kabini bridge lying abandoned near Mysore as a tourist spot."We will sign an agreement with Maharaja of Mysore who has shown interest in the Kabini project to convert the oldest rail bridge as a tourist spot as part ofour harnessing the heritage programme," said a senior Railway Ministry official. Railways had sought the help of corporate houses through Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for developing the 270-year-old Kabini railway bridge inKarnataka, which is currently lying unused, as a tourist site. Built in brick, sand and stone with Gothic style arches, the bridge across the Kabini river is situated between Tandavpura and Nanjangud town stations on the Mysore-Chamaraj nagar section. It has been rendered redundant in the wake ofgauge conversion of the Mysore - Nanjangud section. Railways has suggested commissioning of a restaurant and a heritage gallery inthe metre-gauge coaches to be placed on the Kabini bridge, besides developing some colourful play stations for children on a public-private participation model. "We will not invest any money in the project but allow the Maharaja to develop the property with certain guidelines," said the official.

Rail trail

New Delhi : Locomotives in steam-12, The photographs, on display at the Rail Museum, show three generations of steam locomotives. The first is the MAWD-class meter gauge loco from the War-timedesign era, the second is B-class narrow gauge Darjeeling Himalayan Railway loco from the non-standard design era and the last is the broad gauge WP class locofrom the Post-war IRS design era. The meter gauge loco is 2-8-2 MAWD 1798 built in 1944 at Baldwin loco works. It was recommissioned in 2001. Later in June 2006, the crew cab and tender wasre built at the Siliguri shed. The narrow gauge loco is 0-4-0 ST B 802, built bythe North British Locomotive Company in 1927. The broad gauge locomotive is WP7161. On the occasion of 125 years of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, aunique run on three gauges was organised at Siliguri junction station on August23, 2007. This station has the unique distinction of being the only station inthe world that has three gauges broad, meter and narrow. The broad gaugetrain hauled by WP 7161 ran from Siliguri to Chalsa station. The meter gaugetrain hauled by MAWD 1798 ran from Siliguri to Bagdogra station. The narrow gauge train hauled by B802 ran from Siliguri to Kurseong station.A display panel at the Rail Museum bears the signature of the original eight-member crew that had worked on the BG locomotive-WP 7161.

Sayaji Rao Gaekwad III

Sayaji Rao Gaekwad III (1863-1939) was born on March 11, 1863 in a village inthe Nashik District of the then Bombay Presidency.Originally named Gopalrao, he, with his two brothers, went to a dilapidated primary school, the only one in the village. At the age of 13, the DowagerMaharani of Baroda State adopted him. He was re-named Sayaji Rao Gaekwad-III andput through a 'crash course' to prepare him for life as a ruler.Almost from the word go, Sayajirao was in conflict with the British, having continuous and long standing verbal and written disputes with British residents. On assuming the reins of government, some of his first tasks included educationof his subjects, uplift of the downtrodden, judicial, agricultural and social reforms, building a network of railways to connect areas of his dispersed territories. Fully aware of the fact that he was a Maratha ruler of Gujarat, he identified himself with the people and developed their cosmopolitan attitude and progressive, reformist zeal. His rich library became the nucleus of today's Central Library of Baroda. He was the first Indian Ruler to introduce, in 1906, compulsory and free primary education in his State. The extensive narrow gaugerailway around Dabhoi and Vadodara was built during his tenure.'

VIKAS SINGH, RAIL ENTHUSIAST

Slowdown in fatalities on railway tracks

Mumbai : For the first time in six years, the number of fatal accidents on railway tracks on the suburban network has shown a dip. The fall in figures --from 2,603 deaths in 2007 to 2,448 in 2008 -- is attributed to the construction of concrete walls on both sides of the railway tracks by the railway administration. AK Sharma, Mumbai Railway Police commissioner, said, "The railway administration started constructing concrete walls on both sides of tracks on a war-footing last year to prevent people from trespassing the railway tracks." In 2008, Kurla tracks witnessed 331 fatalities (357 in 2007), Borivili 298(363), Thane 229 (213) and Kalyan 224 (219), pointed out Sharma.Senior divisional security commandant of Railway Protection Force, NC Padhi, said: "We have carried on a sustained drive against trespassers since July 2004. We collected over Rs1.66 crore as fine from 38,701 people in 2008. Our aim isnot only to collect the fine, but also to save precious lives." He said awareness programmes have been held at various stations to pass on safetylessons to commuters. 12 kms of concrete walls. The CR decided to erect 30 kms boundary walls in 2008 to block illegal entry by people on railway tracks in Mumbai division. "We have constructed 7-ft concretewalls with one-ft fence on them between stations like Sandhurst Road and Byculla, Matunga-Sion, Kurla-Vidhyavihar, Vikhorli-Kanjur marg, Mulund-Thane. Inthis way, we have completed 12 kms of walls," said AK Singh, PRO/CR.

At CST on 26/11, they've been

there ever since

Mumbai : Natwarlal Rotawan was at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) with his two children on November 26 when Ajmal Kasab and his partner arrived. Fifteen weeks later, they are still at the station. They keep their belongings in the lockers and roam the city during the day. At night, Rotawan buys platform tickets for all of them, and they sleep in the waiting room. 11-year-old Devika can't forget that night. As the terrorists sprayed the platforms with bullets, she was shot in the leg. She spent over a month in JJHospital. 'I don't like staying here,' she says. '

The memories of that night don't leave me. I jump when I hear loud noises. I can't stop thinking someone like that can come again and shoot all of us dead.'But her father, a dry fruits merchant who works out of Mumbai but does not havea permanent business establishment here, explains why he has no choice but tostay at the station.On 26/11, Rotawan, a widower, had come to CST with Devika and her brother Aakash to catch a train to Pune, where they have family. They had vacated their rented home in Bandra, and had intended to find a new place when they returned to Mumbai. They never left, and after Devika was hit, spent the rest of last yearin her hospital ward. 'Devika was discharged on January 2,'Rotawan said. 'On January 4, we caught a train to my native place in Rajasthan, and returned on January 30. I had business for about a week here, but no place to stay. So until February 6, we slept on the platform, after which we left for our village again. We returned to Mumbai on February 19, and spent a few more days at the station. We then left for the third time, and returned on March 5. Since then, we havebeen staying here.'With such frequent travelling, and with Devika yet to recover fully, he hasfound no time to look for a place to rent, Rotawan says. He denies he hasn't tried hard enough, or that he has just grabbed what amounts to free Government accommodation. 'I have enough money for our daily expenses. Several traders who owed me moneyhave repaid the loans,' he says defensively. 'Also, Devika has got two cheques totalling Rs 95,000 from the Collector and the Central Railway, but I have not touched them. I have put them in an account in her name in a bank inRajasthan.'He misses his dead wife, Rotawan says. 'There was no one to take care of Devika. I could not focus on my business, and I could not leave them alone to gohouse-hunting. They haven't gone to school for two years since their mother died, and my business began facing problems.”He says he can't leave the children with relatives.

They would expect moneyin return. All my relatives know that Devika's compensation money has reachedus, and have begun to ask us for loans. I did check out a couple of small rooms but the safety aspect was always so pitiable that I couldn't imagine everleaving my children alone in those houses.”But he's now had enough of this life, Rotawan says. He has made up his mind tomove into a home after the family returns from their final trip to Rajasthan, due later this month.

'We will stay in the waiting room until March 25, when we leave for Rajasthan. This will be our last trip to Rajasthan and then father will begin searching fora house,' says Devika. She sounds really happy.

Girl falls from running Vikramsheela Exp.

Patna : A 19-year-old girl died after falling from a running express train near Chousa station in Buxar district of Bihar on Wednesday.According to the Railway police the incident occurred soon after the Bhagalpur-bound Vikramsheela Express from New Delhi crossed Chousa station. The girl, identified as the second-year student of Sundarbati Womens College in Bhagalpur, died on the spot. She was returning home from New Delhi, where shehad gone on a study tour. She was accompanied by her classmates and teachers. The exact cause of her death is under investigation and a case had been lodgedwith the local police station. Meanwhile, a news agency reports reaching here indicated that she died after shewas pushed from behind near the pantry car by some unruly elements, who tried tomisbehave with her.

Leading firms eye railways'

Rs 20000cr logistics parks

New Delhi : Indian Railways' ambitious Rs 20,000-crore programme inviting the private sector to build and develop multi-modal logistics parks along the proposed eastern and western dedicated freight corridors has evoked interest from leading players in the field. State-run Container Corp of India, DHL Logistics, Transport Corp of India, GATI, Adani Logistics, Sical Logistics, World Windows Infrastructure and Mahindra Logistics are some of the companies in the fray, a railways ministry officialsaid." So far, based on our invitation for sending us expression of interest, we havereceived applications from nine companies," said a senior ministry official involved in the execution of the public-private initiative. "By the time the deadline ends on March 15, we expect some more companies torespond," the official told, requesting anonymity.

He said each of theselogistics hubs would be provided 300-400 acres of land for development. Currently, two routes have been taken up for the dedicated freight corridors andthe logistics parks will come up along them.These are the 1,483-km western route from the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust inNavi Mumbai to Dadri in Uttar Pradesh via Ahmedabad, Palanpur, Rewari and Tughlakabad (Delhi); and the 1,806-km eastern route from Dankuni (near Kolkata) to Ludhiana in Punjab via Sonnagar, Mughalsarai, Allahabad and Khurja.

The basic objective of the logistics projects is to enhance the volume of railfreight in the overall transport chain of the country with complete solutions tohelp companies reduce both the cost and time of transporting goods. "Private companies can also develop real estate on such land. They can build offices, commercial complexes, trade pavilions, conference facilities, hotels, restaurants and even residential accommodation," the ministry official said. According to a study by a leading global realty consultancy Cushman and Wakefield, the Indian logistics business is expected to grow at 15-20 per centper annum over the next five years.The study also said that by 2012, about 110 logistics parks will be operational in the country spread over 3,500 acres, with another 45 million sq ft of warehousing space to be developed by various logistics companies by same time frame. On being asked if any real estate and infrastructure companies had also shown interest, the railway official said there was little hope of this since such companies were themselves facing a funds crunch. But he was also candid enough to admit that the slow tendering process had perhaps kept away some companies like engineering and infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro and Delhi-based realty developer DLF. Both these companies had expressed interest in the modernisation of the New Delhi Railway Station and bid for the tender. But they have been waiting for afinal outcome for over a year. "This is obviously deterring some players. But they must understand our compulsions," the official explained. Freight carried by Indian Railways has grown at an average of nine percent perannum over the past five years and the ministry has set an ambitious target of hauling 1.1 billion tonnes of freight by the end of the 11th Plan in 2011-12. "Multi-modal logistics parks will be the hubs for providing end-to-end solutions for the supply-chain management of industrial customers and shall be well-servedby rail and road connectivity," the official said.

Yesvantpur-Hubli Express

extended upto Bijapur

HUBLI : The services of Yesvantpur-Hubli-Yesvantpur Daily Express special trains(0689/0690) will be extended till Bijapur duly cancelling Hubli-Kangunhal (354) and Gadag-Hubli Passenger trains. However the timings of the trains will remain the same as the primary maintenance of the rake will be shifted to Yesvantpur instead of Hubli. The timings of extended portion between Hubli-Bijapur-Hubli are as follows:-

The Yesvantpur-Bijapur train (0689) will depart from Yesvantpur at 10.10 pm fromMarch 12 and arrive Bijapur at 2.10 pm, the next day. The last special servicefrom Yesvantpur side is on June 30. Enroute, the train will arrive/depart Hubli at 7.25 am/8.20 am, arrive at Sisvinahalli at 8.55 am, Annigeri (9.16 am), Gadag (9.45 am), Hole Alur (10.45am), Badami (11.15 am), Bagalkot (11.58 am), Alamatti (12.38 pm) and Basavana bagewadi Road (1.09 pm). In the return direction, the train will depart from Bijapur at 4.50 pm from March 13 and arrive Yesvantpur at 6.45 am, the next day. The last special service from Bijapur is on July 1. Enroute, the train will arrive at Basavana bagewadi Road at 5.31 pm, Alamatti (5.52 pm), Bagalkot (6.30 pm), Badami (7 pm), Hole Alur (7.40 pm), Gadag (8.45pm), Annigeri (9.29 pm), Sisvinahalli (9.45 pm) and arrive/depart Hubli (8.20pm/8.40 pm). The present timings will remain same from Hubli to Yesvantpur. Meanwhile, Kangunhal-Dharwad (355) and Dharwad-Gadag (356) passenger trains willrun between Hubli and Gadag only as per existing timings and will be cancelled between Hubli and Dharwad stations.

CR : Man hit by balloon, loses eye

MUMBAI: A Mankhurd resident travelling to Dombivli by train lost his eye whensome hooligans threw a water balloon laden with stones into the compartment. The incident occurred between Kopar and Dombivli stations on Central Railway, around 9.30 am on Tuesday, when 31-year-old Sanjay Kagari was commuting to work. 'His right eye is completely damaged since the lens has been dislocated by the impact of the injury. We just can't implant an artificial lens due to thedislocation,' said Dr T P Lahane, head of the ophthalmology department at the state-run JJ Hospital. Kagari's vision in the right eye is reduced to mereperception of light. The other cases at the city's various public hospitals pertained to minor bruises. What makes Kagari's case worse is that a part of the right eye's lens hasentered the vitreous (clear gel in the posterior of the eye) and his eye hascaved in. 'Thankfully, there are no fractures,' said Dr Lahane. In two orthree weeks, Kagari will undergo a corrective surgery which may help him regainvision.

However, the chances of him recovering normal vision in this eye areslim due to the extent of the damage, Lahane said. Kagari's left eye is a notch better: a part of the upper eyelid tore in the accident and a part of it went missing. The lower lid, too, had a 3cm x 0.5cm tear. Doctors at JJ Hospital in Byculla have sutured the tear and say that the condition traumatic macularedema is treatable. Elsewhere, city hospitals on Wednesday had a steady stream of patients pouring into the casualty departments for minor injuries. As the city celebrated the festival of colours, hospitals were kept busy treating minor injuries like lacerations and eye problems. While the numbers were fewer when compared toprevious years, the cases were varied.

'Most of the patients had come forabrasions and minor injuries. All the 33 patients were treated and released. There was no need to admit anybody,' said Dr Pravin Bangar at KEM Hospital. Sion Hospital, which normally sees a number of patients with rashes and chemical burns, had 13 patients with injuries due to drunken brawls. Most of the cases at the peripheral hospitals were also of minor injuries sustained in brawls.