‘Janata Khana’ in Railway to have national and regional cuisines

September 1st, 2009 MUMBAI - Police on Tuesday resorted to firing in the air and baton charging irate passengers near a Mumbai railway station. According to preliminary television reports, the incident took place at the Nala Sopara Railway Station nin Thane District, as the passengers expressed their anger over the delay and disruption of local train services.

September 1st, 2009 MUMBAI - Train services along the Western Railway route resumed partially on Tuesday, hours after police had to resort to a baton charge and firing in the air to disperse irate passengers. The Chief Public Relations Officer of the Western Railway, S.S.

July 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Indian Railways has over 1.7 lakh vacancies for various grades, which will be filled in after reviving the existing recruitment process, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee informed the Rajya Sabha today. Replying to a question, Banerjee said the review of the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) would also examine regional aspirations and problems raised during the railway recruitment process in Maharashtra, Assam, and Karnataka.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to reply to the general discussion on rail budget on Thursday in Lok Sabha. The Railway budget is still under discussion in both houses of parliament.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, presenting the rail budget for 2009-10 in parliament Friday, said all railway zones have been instructed to ensure availability of 'Janata Khana' - national and regional cuisines - on trains. "National and regional cuisines will be introduced and priority would be given to provision of good quality food, drinking water and toilet facilities and ensure cleanliness on trains and stations," Banerjee said.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Following are the highlights of the rail budget for the current fiscal presented by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Lok Sabha Friday: - New train information system to be started in Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi - 50 mobile rail ticket vans to be introduced - ATMs on 200 mid and small sized stations - Integrated security scheme rolled out for 140 vulnerable stations - Special recruitment drive for the physically challenged, minorities - Committee under Sam Pitroda to commercialise railways' optic fibre network - Private operation of freight terminals to be encouraged - One doctor to be posted on each long distance train - New factory in West Bengal for making 500 state-of-the-art coaches annually - Janta khana (peoples' food) to be provided in railway stations - Railways will not be guided by economic viability, but by social commitment - Seven nursing colleges to provide employment to railway spouses - Medical colleges proposed to be opened through public-private partnership model - Cold storages and cargo facilities to eliminate wastage of perishables - 50 world class stations to be developed on public-private partnership model - 309 out of 375 stations will be developed with modern facilities - 50 stations at tourist, religious places to have integrated facilities - Infotainment facilities on Rajdhani Express for long distance passengers - Unreserved ticketing systems to be expanded from 5,000 to 8,000 terminals - Passengers can now buy tickets at 5,000 post offices - Air-conditioned double-decker trains for inter-city travel - SMS updates for wait-listed passengers - 200 automatic vending machines at key stations for selling tickets

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - According top priority to social commitment as opposed to economic viability, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday presented her ministry's budget for this fiscal with no fare hikes and proposals to introduce 57 new trains, improve passenger amenities and upgrade some 300 stations to global standards. A freeze on passenger fares and freight rates, non-stop trains between a host of key stations, air-conditioned double-decker trains for inter-city travel, sale of tickets at 5,000 post offices and automatic vending machines at 200 stations were the highlights of her budget.

May 29th, 2009 AGRA - A unique and a precious library housing highly significant literature and manuscripts of medieval period, remains in a shambles due to authorities' apathy, in Uttar Pradesh. Maluna Sayeed Ahmed established the library named 'Qutab Khana' in the year 1906.

May 17th, 2009 PATNA - In a magnanimous gesture to reach out to her estranged ally and Union Railway minister, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Sunday called up Railway Minister Lalu Prasad requesting him to attend the Cabinet meet scheduled for Monday. "UPA chairperson rang up the Railway Minister last evening and requested him to attend a meeting of the union Cabinet on Monday," his private secretary Bhola Yadav said here on Sunday.

April 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Rakesh Chopra, an officer of Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE) of 1971 batch, has taken over as the new Member (Engineering), Railway Board and ex-officio Secretary to the Government of India. He took over from S.K.

February 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - As if his plate was not overflowing with counter-terrorism and myriad other issues, Home Minister P. Chidambaram found himself fending off a barrage of questions in the Rajya Sabha Wednesday on why life was so difficult for pedestrians in Delhi.

February 12th, 2009 PATNA - It was like the festivals of Holi and Diwali being celebrated together on the streets of Patna as hundreds of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) workers smeared colour on each other and burst firecrackers to hail the interim Railway Budget presented by party chief and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in parliament Friday. The RJD chief's supporters, mostly workers and leaders of the party, also took out celebratory marches to the accompaniment of drums, shouted his praise and danced on the streets to popular tunes.

January 31st, 2009 PATNA - Railways Minister Lalu Prasad is set to gift his home district, Gopalganj in Bihar, a railway division before the next Lok Sabha polls. After Lalu Prasad's ancestral village Phulwaria is connected with his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi's Salar Kalan village, Lalu now plans to give another rare gift to Bihar by announcing the establishment of a railway division in Thawe at Gopalganj.

January 22nd, 2009 RANCHI - Indian Railways Friday paid tributes to freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose by renaming a railway station in Jharkhand after him. Railways Minister Lalu Prasad announced the new name of the Gomo railway station that comes under the Dhanbad railway division.

January 18th, 2009 RAMPUR - Pakistan based terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) has issued a written threat to blow up two railway stations in Uttar Pradesh and three in Uttarakhand, officials said. J.S. Dwivedi, the station master of Najibabad railway station, said he had received an inland letter signed by self-proclaimed JeM Karachi area commander Tasleem Mohammad Saturday afternoon.