Transportation

However, if we look over our soldier then we find that a lot is still desirable from the railway ministry, first, in terms of pace of implementation and then in terms of some other crucial aspects.  Bihar has a lot many railway tracks announced over the last twelve years. However, implementation has been so sluggish that many of the projects announced as long back as 1997-98 are yet to take off. Timely execution of these projects would have given all important boost to local economy of the state. Same has not been happening though.  Hardly any project has adhered to the time line of two to three years between announcement and implementation, as would have been a reasonable timeline. In the process, these projects have failed to impart the necessary impetus to stagnating state economy.

As of now, it is a bit heartening that production units/ workshop projects planned for the state are on the track and now gathering pace as well. Also satisfactory has been the work on revamping the existing production units and workshops. Some imaginative thoughts have been put in this regard by MR. If things move at the current pace, state will get to see all these units take shape by end of year 2010, just in nick of time for the next assembly election. However, pace of rail road implementation is not so satisfactory and will take much longer time, especially, the ones announced in rail budget 2008-09.   However, one can take satisfaction that these routes will take shape over time, if not by end 2010 then at least by year end 2020, provided that there is no inimical government at the center shelving these projects through certain new policy pronouncements.

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The special train between Pune and Patna (2149B) will depart from Pune on November 1 at 22.00 hrs. The train will reach Daund at 22.05 hrs, Ahmednagar the next day at 00.50 hrs, Manmad 3.30 hrs, Bhusawal 6.20 hrs, Khandwa 10.40 hrs, Itarsi 13.55 hrs, Satna 21.35 hrs, Allahabad next day at 1.50 hrs, Mughalsarai at 6.30 hrs, Buxar at 7.40 hrs and finally reach Patna on November 3 at 11.15 hrs.

Vice-a-versa the special train between Patna and Pune (2150B) will leave Patna on November 5 at 20.10 hrs. The train will reach Buxar at 21.57 hrs, Mughalsarai 23.40 hrs, Allahabad the next day at 02.15 hrs, Satna 05.20 hrs, Itarsi 12.10 hrs, Khandwa 15.05 hrs, Bhusawal 17.35 hrs, Manmad 20.30 hrs, Ahmednagar next day at 00.15 hrs, Daund at 2.25 hrs and finally reach Pune on November 7 at 4.10 hrs.

The train will have 12 second class unreserved general compartments and 2 SLR. Unreserved tickets will be available three days in advance.

Irate mobs vandalised different railway stations, damaging property and disrupting communication which led to the cancellation of all long distance trains originating from the state or passing through it.

Major damage to railway property was reported from Motihari, Biharsharif, Lakhisarai and Ara. Security forces fought pitched battles with rampaging mobs at different places. A number of agitators were also taken in custody.

Nearly 100 women under the aegis of the Rashtriya Mahila Brigade shouted slogans against Raj Thackeray and the MNS here. They also burnt an effigy of Raj.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's appeal to the agitating students to exercise restraint and not to resort to violence did not seem to have any impact.

Nalanda, the home district of the Chief Minister, observed a bandh today in protest against the killing of Pawan Kumar, an examinee, allegedly by MNS activists in Mumbai. He was a native of Nalanda.

The Central Railway will run special trains between Mumbai-Pune and Madgaon-Gorakhpur-Patna.

These trains are being run to accommodate extra bookings during Diwali, a release issuded by the Central Railway said.

Among the trains will be be two Mumbai-Gorakhpur specials, six Dadar-Gorakhpur, two Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Gorakhpur, two Dadar-Patna, two Pune-Patna and four Mumbai-Madgaon specials, the release here said.

Bookings for the special trains will open on October 18, the release added.

It was first introduced on the Saharsa-Amritsar route on October 4, 2006, followed by its run on the Patna-Delhi, Patna-Kolkata and Jainagar-Delhi via Patna routes.

According to sources, the fully AC Garib Rath, which has been introduced in the railways with definite objectives, has the capacity to earn about Rs 10 to 14 lakh on each single journey, particularly on the Patna-Delhi, Saharasa-Amritsar and Jainagar-Delhi routes. The railways have accordingly planned to introduce more Garib Rath trains on the Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Ahmedabad, Delhi-Chennai and many other routes soon in the interest of poor passengers.

Encouraged by its successful run, Lalu recently announced the decision to connect each capital city with Garib Rath, sources said. According to senior divisional commercial manager (senior DCM) of Danapur division Om Prakash, the railways have been running Garib Rath on Patna-Delhi route on every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday with the load combination of 17 bogies. This particular train is so popular among passengers that they prefer to travel by fully air conditioned Garib Rath at a moderate fare.

And he has under his command the biggest tool a politician has ever had to connect with his constituency - The Indian Railways.

Christened Jaynagar-Hazrat Nizamuddin Garib Rath, it will connect the state's migrant labourers with New Delhi. Earlier, he linked Saharsa with Amritsar, one of the biggest employers of such labourers.

The AC Garib Rath is meant for the poor. While introducing the first Rath, he said: "I know how rudely a poor man is treated by the TTEs (train ticket examiners) in AC compartments. They are shooed away, just like dogs. No more. This whole train is for the poor and no TTE dare now shoo them away ." However, a ride on the JaynagarHazrat Nizamuddin Garib Rath will cost Rs 643, while a non-AC class ticket costs around Rs 250.

Lalu's claims aside, the Garib Rath's clientele is likely to be largely from the seven lakh middle class passengers who travel by sleeper class every day .

"It is preposterous to think that the poor, who can hardly afford to make both ends meet, will even think of travelling in AC coaches.

But then, it's an idea, which need not be taken literally," said a senior railway official on condition of anonymity .

But Lalu cannot stop at flagging off only one Rath. He inaugurated a 68-km broad gauge line between Sitamarhi and Darbhanga and announced at Sitamarhi that the railways would provide a direct train to New Delhi in 15 days. He also flagged off two passenger trains between Sitamarhi and Darbhanga.

All in one day .

Train No. 791 Secunderabad-Patna special train will depart from Secunderabad at 10 p.m. on September 30 and October 7, 14, 21, 28, November 4 and 11 and arrive in Patna at 9.50 a.m. on the third day.

In the return direction, Train No. 792 Patna-Secunderabad special train will depart from Patna at 4.30 p.m on October 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 November 6 and 13 and arrive in Secunderabad at 4 a.m. on the third day.

Enroute, these special trains will stop at Kazipet, Balharshah, Nagpur, Itarsi, Jabalpur, Katni, Satna, Allahabad, Allahabad City, Gyanpur Road, Varanasi, Mughalsarai, Bauxar, Ara and Danapur in both directions.

This decision has been taken to ease out heavy traffic operation, besides improving further safety measures, said Danapur DRM B D Garg.

According to Garg, the board has sanctioned about Rs 10 crore for Patna Junction while Rs 6 core each has been sanctioned for Danapur and Jhahja stations respectively.

The railways have already constructed the RRI building at Patna Junction and the construction work of the RRI buildings is going on at Danapur and Jhajha stations, he said, adding the railways intend to make these RRI stations functional in the current fiscal year.

Garg said though this system of advanced technology is available at several stations of the Indian Railways, it has become a must for Patna, Danapur and Jhajha stations in view of the increased traffic operations.

India has enjoyed a boom in domestic air travel, as low-cost carriers, led by Air Deccan, brought the once-seeming luxury of air travel within the reach of a far greater number of Indians, who previously relied on the country's colonial-era rail system for most long journeys.

Sharp rises in the price of fuel have increased India's domestic airline ticket prices by up to

20 per cent, prompting many cost-conscious Indians to turn away from air travel.

In July, India's airlines carried 12.6 per cent fewer passengers on domestic flights than a year earlier, at 3.04m.

At Indian Railways, the vast state network, traveller numbers in its more up-market, air-conditioned cars surged by nearly 50 per cent in the same period.

"We feel that some passengers are diverting to the trains from planes," said Anil Kumar Saxena, of the railways ministry, but he said it was too early to know whether the trend would last.

Pankaj Gupta, a partner in New Delhi's Outbound Travels, said "a lot of people can't believe that so recently it was x-y-z to fly somewhere and now it's up by 20 per cent. It's a shock to them. A lot of people are deferring their travel, saying 'we'll think about it and let you know'."

According to the proposal, the base price of the AC Ist class ticket will be offered at a price equal to AC 2nd class fare of that particular train.

Similarly, the reserve price for 2AC ticket will be equal to the AC 3-Tier fare and sleeper class rate will be applicable for 3AC fare.

To begin with, only 10 to 20 per cent seats on selected trains are likely to be offered for bidding on the internet.

The auction is expected to open 48 hours before the departure time and closed two hours before the scheduled departure.

However, the scheme will not be applicable to 514 pairs of trains categorised as popular trains.

All Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains except Ajmer Shatabdi and Chennai-Bangalore Shatabdi Express are also exempted from the scheme.

"Trains with less than 60 per cent occupancy rate are considered unpopular and only those train tickets will be available for the auction," said the official. Railways expect that occupancy rate of some of its unpopular trains will go up through the auction system.

"We are launching a commercial portal and passenger interface and the auctioning facility will be part of it," said the official.

The portal will also have all customer related information including train position, timing, availability and fares.

"Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) is providing the software for the portal and tenders are being invited for it," said the official.

"The Chhattisgarh and Bihar governments have agreed to begin bus services on 28 inter-state routes for the first time," a government press statement said here.

The agreement was signed July 31, but the date for commencing the services has not yet been announced.

The buses that will originate from Chhattisgarh will pass through Jharkhand to reach places in Bihar like Patna and Gaya.

An estimated 500,000 people of Bihar live in Chhattisgarh's industrial cities like Bhilai, Korba and Raigarh besides capital Raipur and they have to rely on a daily train to travel to their home state that takes a long route via Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

According to Danapur DRM B D Garg, the railways have stored ashes, boulder and other required materials at all vulnerable places under the division. In any emergency, these stored materials will be used to keep tracks and bridges, particularly small ones, free from waterlogging. Besides, these safety measures will avert any mishap on tracks and bridges, he said.

The DRM said the vulnerable places are those where rain water overtops the tracks during heavy rain. Monsoon safety staff keep close watch on them. The monsoon safety is also a comprehensive plan to create awareness among the staff of the Danapur division, he said, adding the railways have started safety counselling especially for those staff that directly monitor train movements, including loco pilots and guards.

Garg maintained that safety of passengers has been the top priority of the railways. Safety-related staff has been imparted special training to deal with any emergency during monsoon. Keeping in mind safety of bridges, the railways have introduced track patrolling, particularly at major bridges like Koelwar, Kiul and Mokama. Small bridges, which have been identified as vulnerable on Bakhtiarpur-Rajgir, Patna-Gaya and mainline sections of the division are being kept under constant surveillance, he said.

That apart, the railways took stock of safety measures at each railway crossing gate. While there is no unmanned gate on the mainline section of the division, safety measures have been stepped up at each vulnerable gate. The Danapur division has chalked out a comprehensive safety plan to bring the accident rate to zero level in the current calendar year, the DRM said.

Lalu Prasad Thursday evening inaugurated a new rail line on a 17.5-km stretch between Phulwaria, his birth place, with Salar Kalan, Rabri Devi's village in Gopalganj district, about 200 km from here.

He flagged off the first passenger train on the new line and inaugurated a station building at Phulwaria, his birth place.

Indian Railways have decided to invite Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the non - core sector for setting up of logistic parks, wagon investment schemes, wagon leasing schemes and also to participate in the setting up of more than 7000 agricultural outlets throughout the country, Lalu said.

It would encourage the introduction of PPP model for setting up of new factories for production of wagons, coaches and locomotives, he added.

The Minister asserted that Indian Railways is going to upgrade 26 major railways stations as world class stations throughout the country including four metropolitan cities.

He also informed that there will be separate departure and arrival facilities for passenger to decongest existing crowds at station complex besides other modernized passenger amenities like world class waiting/rest-rooms, multi-level parking, malls etc.

He stated that for 'turnaround of Indian Railway', the credit goes to its 14 lakh employees who worked with full dedication and made Indian Railways to earn billions despite reduction in passenger fares.

He declared that this great turnaround was achieved without retrenching any employee and without increasing the passenger fare, rather the fares have been reduced.

'The railways have decided to develop five high-speed passenger train corridors to enable passengers to cover these busy routes in the shortest possible time,' said a ministry official here Friday.

'One high-speed passenger corridor each will be in the northern, western, southern and eastern region,' Railway minister Lalu Prasad had said recently.

'One corridor will run between Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar, the second will run between Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad and the third corridor will be on the Hyderabad-Dornakal-Vijyawada-Chennai route,' said the minister.The other two corridors will be on 'Howrah-Haldia route and Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Ernakulum route,' he said.

The project is still at its preliminary stage, the minister admitted, adding: 'The railways have decided only to conduct pre-feasibility studies for construction of high speed passenger train corridors'.

The railway ministry has already initiated 'the process for inviting global tenders for engaging a consultant for conducting pre-feasibility studies', Lalu Prasad said, and added: 'A decision shall be taken only after these studies are completed and evaluated'.

The idea of high-speed corridors for passenger trains has come from the states, the minister said, explaining: 'State governments of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Delhi have expressed their interest in high-speed trains and have agreed 'in principle' to participate in any pre-feasibility studies.'

"The route to be electrified comes within the Barauni-Katihar-Guwahati section of the East and North-East Frontier Railway, at a cost of Rs505.68 crore," said finance minister P. Chidambaram, following a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). The route will handle long-distance freight and passenger traffic to the North-East.

The CCEA has also decided to hand over the administration of Bharat Engineering and Wagon Co. Ltd, Patna, to the railway ministry. "The ministry will henceforth infuse working capital for the sick PSU, appoint the chairman and managing director and other executives as necessary," the finance minister said, adding that existing workers in the company would be retained.

The committee also approved a one-time non-plan grant of Rs 200 crore to keep Fertilizer and Chemicals Travancore Ltd operational. It also approved the group of ministers' re-commendation on allocation of food grain at 35kg per family per month for below poverty line families.

NTPC, India's largest power generation utility, had plans to nearly treble the Kahalgaon project from its earlier installed capacity of 840MW to 2,340MW. Though it has been successful in commissioning the first unit of 500MW, the fate of remaining units of similar capacity is uncertain.
NTPC, which has a capacity of 27,404MW, plans to add 22,596MW over the next five years.

"The huge congestion in the railway links, along with low coal supplies, has affected our project," says Kahalgaon-based Biswanath Mukherjee, a general manager at NTPC. "To make matters worse, the existing rail link between Bhagalpur and Kahalgaon has also been suspended. The quality of roads leaves much to be desired. We are trying to meet the target of March 2008 for commissioning the remaining units, but we are not sure whether it will happen on time. Even the quality of coal is a concern."

The railway authorities have decided to introduce such new tracks for goods trains since 2008. In the first phase the metropolitan cities will be brought under this facility. Later the work will start on all the routes under all railway zones, said the union railway minister Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav today at Barsoi of Katihar district in Bihar where he inaugurated a newly converted railway track from meter guage to broad guage between Barsoi and Katihar on 34.5 km railway track which was constructed after spending around Rs 93 crore. From Barsoi, he also inaugurated another newly constructed railway track between Alipurduar and Bamanhaat in North Bengal, a 72.7 km stretch of track after spending around Rs 124 crore. The later was inaugurated by a remote.

After the inauguration of two tracks Mr Yadav said, "the Indian railway is the lifeline of India. My dream is to make Indian railway the largest profit making and passenger comfort railway service in the world. Northest Frontier Railway will convert some railway stations into model stations in next year and Barsoi station will come up under this facility. The Indian railway is moving ahead with a good planning. This planning will earn a great profit for the railway department in the present year. If it goes the same way in next few years Indian railway will be the largest profit making railway in the world, he added.

The train covers the whole journey in eight days. The passengers will be taken to Gaya, Rajgir-Nalanda, Varanasi, Gorkhpur, Kushinagar, Lumbani in Nepal, Gonda, Agra and back to Delhi. The fare from October 2007 to March 2008 will be US$ 150, 105 and 88 for 1st AC, 2nd AC and 3rd AC respectively for per person per night on twin sharing basis. In other words, the total individual fair for seven days will be US$ 1050, 735 and 616 respectively.

Tariff includes all the comforts of Rajdhani Express Air Conditioned train, which includes train journey, onboard/off board catering, house keeping, road transfer by AC vehicles, sightseeing, Darshan, visit to holy places, hotel stay in AC rooms and entrance fee at monuments. Indian passengers can pay in equivalent Rupee (INR) amount, at the exchange rate prevalent at the time of payment.