Keyword : Indian Railways

Any problem traveling in Indian railways? Browse the web and register complain

The railway ministry has launched a mobile phone application and one online portal to provide customers with "an effective forum to lodge complaints". These two forums can

Railways to focus on safety: Manoj Sinha

The railway ministry wants people travel in trains out of willingness and not out of compulsion, Manoj Sinha, MoS, has said. Talking about efforts made by the Indian railways to ensure safe and com

Tatkal booking timings changed, refund will be 50%

The railways have revised booking timing and cancellation rules for Tatkal tickets.  The Tatkal booking for air conditioned classes will commence at 10 am and close at 11 am, w

DRDO scientist assaulted at New Delhi station

What can be termed as total apathy on part of the railway administration a young scientist from Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) was beaten by three persons in broad day light a

Railways overhaul begins with Bibek Debroy`s plan to junk rail budget

Suggesting some out of the box solutions to the mammoth railways’ problems, the Bibek Debroy committee on the restructuring of Indian Railways seeks involvement of states and private sector.

Cabinet okay for huge power transmission system, redevelopment of 400 railway stations

The union cabinet on Thursday approved several proposals in infrastructure and power sectors, and also opened up investment doors. The cabinet has opted for a new Swiss Challenge Met

Railways taps unreserved seats with booking app

Bringing smart solutions that deliver convenience, railway ministry introduced mobile-based application for booking unreserved tickets for travelling on New Delhi - Palwal section of northern railw

Indian railways to benefit from Japanese tech solutions

Japan has shown interest in railway station development and a official team will come to India to identify opportunities. This is the immediate outcome of railway minister Suresh Pra

Indian railways, ISRO to secure unmanned railway crossings

Indian railways is in talks with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and IIT Kanpur to develop a radio-based warning system at all unmanned level crossings of railways, said AK Mittal, chairm

Railways and TERI varsity pact to study sustainable mobility

The Indian railways has set up a railway chair at TERI University for the purpose of promoting research on issues of sustainable mobility, use of energy efficient technology and green energy initia

Indian Railways choose vibrant colours for semi-high speed train coaches

Indian Railway has selected ‘Vitality’, the colour scheme inspired by ‘cheetah’, the fastest moving animal, created by the National Institute of Design for the coaches of th

Leaked data is not ours, claims IRCTC

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) rebuked the allegations of the Maharashtra cyber crime cell regarding the leak of user profile data of at least one crore people from its

Should Railway Budget be scrapped?

Should Railway Budget be scrapped?

A 50-year-old dream gets on track

It is like a dream come true as we were disconnected from the rest of the country,” said an ecstatic Babloo Rai, a resident of Mau town in Uttar Pradesh after it was announced that a 51-km br

All you need to know about rail tickets surge pricing

Facing criticism on dynamic surge pricing for premium train tickets, the railway ministry has clarified that the dynamic pricing is being done for experimental basis and will be reviewed after some

Railway practice to “overcharge” goods customers unhealthy: Niti Aayog

Niti Aayog, in its report Impact of `Social Service Obligations` by Indian Railways, said that inefficiency in railways cost structure significantly contributes to the losses in passenger service b

Railway budget is history. Here’s the rationale behind ‘budget reforms’

Doing away with yet another long-standing tradition, the cabinet has decided to do away with the

Thirst quencher

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the commercial arm of Indian Railways, intends to push the production of Rail Neer to bridge the gap between demand and supply.

Get IRCTC’s concierge service by dialing 139

Concierge service, introduced by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), can now be availed through round the clock 139 Interactive Voice Response (IVR) facility. The concierge ser

Railways doubles the compensation to accident victims

Over a month after hundreds of people lost their lives in Indore-Patna Express accident at Pukhrayan in Kanpur, railways has decided to double the compensation paid to train accident victims.

A swipe won’t get you a ticket here

One day last December, Shyam Kishore got into an argument with a railway clerk at Meerut City station. Kishore, who commutes daily by train between Meerut and Ghaziabad, had decided to renew his mo

Railway Budget: A new track

This time of the year, the corridors of Rail Bhawan on Delhi’s Raisina Road, would normally have been abuzz with activity as officials would be at work tightening the nuts and bolts of the ra

Train accidents derail railway safety

Three horrific train accidents have taken place in quick succession. The latest accident took place on January 21, when the Hirakhand Express was derailed in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh

A green train of thought

The growing consumption of diesel has been a matter of concern for the Indian Railways. Not only does its emission cause environmental damage, buying diesel involves huge  foreign exchange out

Here is what should be on your weekend bucket list

The NHRC, however, has steadily become more busy. From 496 complaints it received in 1993-94, in 2015-16, the commission registered more than one lakh cases of civil, political, economic, social an

Trains to tragedy

At a time when we are thrilled at the thought of the arrival of hyperloop transportation technology enabling high-speed travel inside a partially vacuum tube and introduction of the bullet trains,

Budget 2017: No service charge for online railway tickets

Presenting the union budget 2017-18, finance minister Arun Jaitely announced 1.31 lakh crore for the capital and development expenditure of Indian Railways. A total of Rs 55,000 crore has been allo

Need to implement accounting reforms in railways: Niti Aayog

The urgent need of implementing Accounting Reforms (AR) in Indian Railways (IR) is widely recognized and accepted, said a Niti Aayog note. The note by economist and Niti Aayog member

Suresh Prabhu unveils freight action plan, envisages better revenue

Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, minister of railways, on Thursday, unveiled – what he called the ‘mini budget’ – a freight policy called the ‘Freight and Passenger Business

Railway reviews flexi fare system

The railways have reviewed the flexi fare system, the Lok Sabha was informed. Union minister Raje

All trains to have bio-toilets by 2019

  All passenger trains will have bio-toilets by 2019, the Lok Sabha was informed.   Union minister Suresh Prabhu said that it was earlier targeted to

Railways suffered over Rs 33,000 crore loss on passenger service: CAG

  The Railways was unable to meet its operational cost of passenger and other coaching services. During 2014-15, there was a loss of Rs 33,821.70 crore on passenger and other coa

Reform first, privatise later: Bibek Debroy to railways

Before privatisation and corporatisation, the Indian Railways need to undertake major reforms including commercial accounting, decentralisation and human resource among others, said Bibek Debroy, e

Railway coaches: Now coupled to safety

Since November last year, India has witnessed three horrible railway accidents, two near Kanpur and one in Andhra Pradesh. They claimed more than 200 lives. Railway experts feel the casualties coul

A rail bridge that will be higher than Eiffel tower

Three years ago Ashwani Kumar Sharma, who hails from Kauri block in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district, was finding it difficult to run a family of five as he was unemployed. Little did he im

IRCTC: Meals on wheels

Poor quality”, “same menu since ages”, “unpredictable”, “not worth the money” – these are some of the terms used by regular train travellers to descr

Tejas Express: Not so tej

Tejas Express, a semi-high speed train, is supposed to run at 200 kmph. But, on its inaugural run between Mumbai to Karmali (Goa), it touched a maximum speed of 110 kmph. A few days befor

Railways introduces high capacity parcel vans

To meet the demand of full vehicle load perishable traffic, Indian Railways has developed high capacity parcel vans, having capacity of 23 tonnes. These vans are attached to passenger trains subjec

Sloppy planning

Once is a mistake. Twice is a pattern. And thrice is a habit. The working of Indian Railways reflects all three at the same time. Yes, it is one of the busiest networks in the world and transports

Will Railway Board wake up from slumber?

The derailment of the Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express on August 19 at Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh which killed 23 people has raised serious questions on the functioning of the railway board.

CAG spotted shortcomings in railway foot over bridges

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in separate reports, had focused on railway foot over bridges (FOB) and called for building more FOBs of prescribed size. As many as

Why bullet trains are unsuitable for India

Many will be surprised to know that 80 years ago, trains ran at a faster speed in North America and Western Europe than in India today. On the shorter distances (up to 500 km), daytime inter-city t

Senior railway officer Achal Khare on the bullet train roadmap

Achal Khare, MD, National High Speed Rail Corporation, is a man with big responsibility – of realising India’s dream of running a bullet train. In conversation with Vishwas Dass, Kh

Speeding up Mission Raftaar

The Indian Railways’ Mission Raftaar, a project to increase the speed of trains on busy routes to reduce travel time, is finally picking up pace. Keeping in mind the 2019 Lok Sabha elections,

Shortcomings in bio-toilets on trains: CAG

Different variants of bio-toilets were installed in seven trains on a trial basis during January 2011 to April 2012. However, before the test results in respect of these rakes could be analysed, ra

An idea whose time has come – again and again

Railways wants to jazz up 400 major railway stations by providing large, airy foyers, comfortable sitting areas, snazzy lounges, smart ticketing system, escalators and the works. But

Budget 2018: Railways expect more funds for safety

Ahead of the union budget 2018-19, Indian railways is hoping to get adequate funds to strengthen safety and introduce modern signaling system for its gigantic rail network of over 65,000 kms. 

Will Rs 1.48 lakh crore Capex help railways to become safer?

As the government allocates Rs 1.48 lakh crore for the railways for 2018-19, it is expected that this would improve safety and create better infrastructure. The railways got the Cape

In a first, railways cracks the whip against absentee staff

The Indian Railways has decided to take disciplinary action against its 13,000 employees who are on unauthorised leaves since long. This is perhaps for the first ever time that the railways has ad

Railways filled only 0.89% safety vacancies in four years

After every major accident Indian Railways claims that it would intensify efforts to fill safety category vacancies to reduce the count of fatal accidents. But data shows something e

Bad water on wheels

While train accidents get much attention, there’s something else that should equally be attended to: the railway’s drinking water supply, which could well have caused many more deaths t

GIS mapping of railway assets

All railways assets are to be mapped and these will be subsequently used to develop Indian Railways’ GIS portal, authorities said on Thursday. Railways have large number of ass

Railways has lagged behind due to inadequate investment: MoS Railways

 Railways has lagged behind due to inadequate investment, union minister Rajen Gohain informed parliament. The minister said that railways has a huge throw-forward in its capita

Panel looks at improving punctuality of trains

One of the major issues affecting railways is punctuality which is accorded prime importance in train operations. At times, trains get delayed not only due to the factors related to its internal wo

IRCTC unveils new portal with waitlist prediction feature

Indian Railways’ PSU, IRCTC has unveiled the new online ticket booking system, Next Generation e-Ticketing (NGeT) system to facilitate easy and fast booking of tickets by automating the journ

Why it is crucial for railways to reduce derailments, improve punctuality

Even as the union minister of railways Piyush Goyal claims of improving railways’ infrastructure and safety, Indian Railways still needs to put in massive efforts to curtail derailment accide

IRCTC listing still lingering despite clearance in 2017

Ministry of railways’ decision of holding the listing of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has exposed its seriousness in listing its public enterprises in stock exchang

Live streaming of IRCTC base kitchens for public

After several reports of poor quality of food being served to passengers surfaced recently, IRCTC has launched a live streaming mechanism to enable people view real time food preparations and packa

Indian Railways to accept Aadhaar, driving licence kept in DigiLocker as ID proof

Indian Railways has decided to accept the Aadhaar cards and driving licence kept in DigitLockers as ID proof from passengers. The decision implies that people will not have to carry

Konkan Railway to begin Kolhapur-Vaibhavwadi section work

Indian Railways’ PSU, Konkan Railway will soon begin the work on the 103 km Kolhapur-Vaibhavwadi section. The decision was taken at a review meeting of Konkan Railway chaired b

Bottleneck in the corridor

Thirteen years after it was announced by the government of India, the dedicated freight corridor (DFC)  project is still struggling to take off due to lackadaisical attitude of the Indian Rail

Railways to save Rs 20 cr annually by using natural gas in workshops, production units

The chairman of the railway board Ashwani Lohani has directed officials to connect all 54 workshops, production units, residential colonies, training institutions and IRCTC base kitchens of the rai

IRCTC website modernised, new technologies adopted, says Indian Railways

Indian Railways has claimed that a number of modern technologies have been adopted by the national transporter to improve services and better passenger experience for rail users. It

BHEL rolls out first electric loco for railways

BHEL has manufactured its first 6,000 HP electric locomotive (type WAG-9H) for Indian Railways. The enterprise says that it has forayed into the transportation sector with the flagging off of its f

Speed enhancement fiasco: Average speed of trains up by a meagre 0.20 kmph in 2018

Huge investment and collaborations with foreign countries to enhance the average speed of freight and passenger trains to cut down the travel time has been going on in the Indian Railways for a lon

How railways plans to go green

With about 23 million passengers on an average day, the Indian Railways itself is the size of a small country. When India plans to significantly increase the share of renewable energy in its cons

Who’s to blame for Amritsar train tragedy

 The incident was not the railways’ fault. There was no lapse on our part and no action against the driver will be initiated. People should refrain from organising such events near track

Railways Diwali gift: Flexi fare removed from 15 trains

In what could be seen as a relief to lakhs of passengers, Indian Railways has discontinued flexi or dynamic fare system in 15 trains having monthly occupancy of less than 50 percent. The decision w

CAG report reveals why trains run late in India

Ever wonder why your train gets delayed every time? Well, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has found an answer. As per a CAG report only 101 out of 163 platforms of 15 major stations of th

India’s fastest prototype Train 18 not fully made in India

The much talked-about Train 18 of the Indian Railways, which recently breached 180 kmph speed limit in the trials, has 20 percent of its components being imported from foreign countries.

Free Wi-Fi at 715 railway stations

The Indian Railways’ ambitious plan of providing free Wi-Fi services has started showing results, as 715 out of 5,734 proposed stations have got the facility as on December 14. Minist

Indian Railways 2018: Major achievements and challenges

 At a time when Indian Railways claims that it has achieved many milestones in 2018, there are numerous areas where the national transporter needs to turn its focus and improve its services.

Tracking locomotives in real time

If you have ever used Indian Railways’ National Train Enquiry System (NTES) web portal or mobile app to check your train’s location, then chances are that you might have received inaccu

CONCOR kicks off coastal operations

Indian Railways’ PSU, Container Corporation of India Ltd (CONCOR’s) maiden voyage vessel- SSL Mumbai was flagged off from Kandla Port to Tuticorin Port by railways minister Piyush Goyal

Indian Railways receives 8.74 lakh tonnes of rail from SAIL

State-run SAIL supplied 8.74 lakh tonnes of rail to Indian Railways against the demand of 11.45 lakh tonnes by the national transporter in 2017-18 fiscal.   The informati

PM flags off India’s first semi high-speed train

Indian Railways entered a new era as prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off the country’s first semi high-speed train, Vande Bharat Express, from the New Delhi railway station.

Vande Bharat halts midway near Tundla

In a major embarrassment to the railways, the much touted Vande Bharat Express developed a technical snag at Chamraula, 15 kms from Tundla junction.   Prime Minister Narendra Mo

BHEL builds India’s first regenerative 5,000 HP electric locomotive

In a major technological breakthrough, BHEL has developed the country’s first such regenerative 5,000 horse power (HP) WAG-7 electric locomotive with a modern regeneration system for Indian R

“Train coaches will have 100 percent bio toilets by June”

The Indian Railways is going for a huge overhaul to make travel more comfortable – from upgrading AC and non-AC carriages to retrofitting of bio toilets. In a tête-à-tê

On the line

Releasing a booklet on the railways achievements in the last five years, railways minister Piyush Goyal may have painted a rosy picture, but that does not subtract from its many troubles, chief amo

Steaming up an oldie

Ramgotty, India’s second oldest steam engine, will soon be reliving its glorious past. The 157-year-old engine is being restored at the northern railway’s Shakurbasti diesel shed in Del

RailTel must aim for Navratna status in 5 years: Goyal

RailTel, one of the youngest PSUs of the railways, should now aim high; it should target to reposition itself from a Miniratna to a Navratna status and become a Rs 10,000 crore company in the next

Whole rail network to have automatic protection system: Rail Board chief

As a part of the modernization of the signalling system, the ministry of railways has decided in principle that it will have the automatic protection system on its entire network of 68,000 km, and

Coming soon at a station near you: private trains!

A long-debated idea is finally coming to fruition as the Indian railways has decided to join hands with the private sector, in running some train services to begin with. The ministry

First Oxygen Express arrives in Mumbai; those for Delhi, UP on their way

A Ro-Ro service carrying three tankers loaded with liquid medical oxygen (LMO) from Hapa in Gujarat reached Kalamboli in Maharashtra Monday. Meanwhile, an Oxygen Express train carrying four tankers

Oxygen: 20 cryogenic tankers imported, allocated to states

To address shortage of oxygen tankers in the country, the centre has imported 20 cryogenic tankers of 10 MT and 20 MT capacity and allocated them to states. The mapping of liquid medical oxygen (LM

How Indian Railways plans to go green

As part of climate action, the Indian Railways aims to achieve achieve Mission Net Zero Carbon Emission by 2030. To support this goal, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between In

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


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