Railways to set up cold storages, run fruit-vegetable trains

September 29th, 2009 KOLKATA - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday stepped in to bail out some of the passengers stranded due to the Air India pilots' strike. She arranged for special trains on various routes and asked union Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy to run an additional service of the Shipping Corporation of India Wednesday to bring back the air passengers stranded in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

September 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - In view of the ongoing stalemate between Air India executive pilots and the airline management, Indian Railways on Tuesday said that it would set up train passenger reservation counters at all important airports throughout the country for the convenience of stranded passengers who want to travel by trains. Ministry of Railways has also given instructions to all its Zonal Railways to give wide publicity through all possible means, including press and media for information of general public about the availability of a large number of vacant berths in trains.

September 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee will flag off two non-stop Duronto Sewa trains before the Durga Puja festival begins Sep 25. "Indian Railways will be starting at least two Duronto Sewa trains, from New Delhi to Sealdah and New Delhi to Chennai," a senior ministry official said.

August 1st, 2009 SHIMLA - Train travellers will soon be able to quaff apple juice from Himachal Pradesh with Indian Railways deciding to serve it on important trains, state Horticulture Minister Narender Bragta said Saturday. "The state government and the railways have reached an understanding under which packaged juices made from Himachal Pradesh apples would be provided to the passengers," Bragta told reporters.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday presented the 15th railway budget in the Parliament. The highlights of the Railway budget 2009-10 are as follows: 1.

July 3rd, 2009 CHENNAI - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee's budget proposals presented in the Lok Sabha Friday did not include private sector participation in running of passenger trains on tourist routes, as suggested by the Economic Survey 2008-09. "Private entry into provision of passenger trains must be allowed to and from all the tourist destinations," the survey tabled in parliament a day earlier had 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 - Following are the highlights of the rail budget for the current fiscal presented by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Lok Sabha Friday: - Rs.25 pass for unorganised sector employees of income below Rs.1,500 up to 100 km - New "Yuva" fully air-conditioned train for youth - Yuva fares Rs.299 up to a distance of 1,500 km and Rs.399 up to 2,500 km - Student concession to be extended to madarssa students - Student concession of 60 percent on Kolkata Metro - Introduction of trains for women during peak seasons - 12 non-stop trains - 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 for 140 vulnerable stations - Setting up of a 1,000 MW power plant - 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 at 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 buy unreserved 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 - Discount for press correspondents increased from 30 to 50 percent - Discount of 60 percent on fare if press correspondents travel with spouse

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Indian Railways will introduce several new facilities on the trains to improve the cleanliness in trains and also to make the journey more comfortable for the passengers. Presenting the Railway Budget 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha today, the Union Railway Minister, Mamata Banerjee said that the Indian Railways will expand 'On Board House Keeping Scheme' (OBHS) to cover 200 additional pairs of trains during the current financial year." "It will take up improved linen management to bring about a significantly improved quality of washing, through modern mechanized automated laundries," she added.

June 14th, 2009 HOWRAH - The Indian Railways will run 66 pairs of special trains carrying pilgrims to Puri in Orissa for the June 24 Rathyatra festival, railways minister Mamata Banerjee said here Sunday. The railways will also run special trains between Sealdah in Kolkata and Rajasthan's Ajmer Sharif, which houses the mausoleum of sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, on June 25 and June 26 for the celebration of the Urs or annual pilgrimage.

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Following are the highlights of the interim rail budget for next fiscal presented by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in Lok Sabha Friday: * Two percent reduction in fares for virtually all classes * Feasibility studies progressing well to start 'bullet trains' in India * Plan outlay for 2009-10 kept at Rs.379.05 billion (Rs.37,905 crore) * Railways will create record surplus of Rs.900 billion (Rs.90,000 crore) this fiscal * Rs.700 billion (Rs.70,000 crore) surplus ploughed back to improve efficiency * In past five years, no burden imposed on train passengers * Railways saw 14 percent rise in passenger income * Railways managed 8 percent growth in freight loading in five years * But freight down in current year due to economic downturn * Revised freight earnings for this fiscal to Rs.542.93 billion (Rs.54,293 crore) * Freight loading target retained at 850 million tonnes * Estimated freight earnings for next fiscal pegged at Rs.590.59 billion (Rs.59,059 crore) * Drop in train accidents, railway safety enhanced * Rs.367.73 billion (Rs.36,773 crore) spent this fiscal toward productivity, passenger facilities * Railways to introduce wagons with higher capacity * Railways to spend Rs.230 billion (Rs.23,000 crore) in 2009-10 * Work has started on Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight corridor * Dedicated freight corridor from Ludhiana to Kolkata to be inaugurated later this month * Kolkata Metro will be expanded * 43 new train services to be started in 2009-10 * Frequencies of 14 trains enhanced * Frequencies of several trains across the country increased to daily service * Extension of 14 trains envisaged * Passenger volume likely to grow by around 7 percent over previous year * Steps to have railway connectivity to Kashmir initiated * Railways have set up four call centres

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Following are the highlights of the interim rail budget for next fiscal presented by Minister for Railways Lalu Prasad in Lok Sabha Friday: * Feasibility studies progressing well to start 'bullet trains' in India * Railways will create record surplus of Rs.900 billion (Rs.90,000 crore) this fiscal * In past five years, no burden imposed on train passengers * Railways saw 14 percent rise in passenger income * Railways managed 8 percent growth in freight loading * Drop in train accidents, railway safety enhanced * Rs.700 billion (Rs.70,000 crore) surplus ploughed back to improve efficiency * Rs.367.73 billion (Rs.36,773 crore) spent this fiscal toward productivity, passenger facilities * Railways to introduce wagons with higher capacity * Railways to spend Rs.230 billion (Rs.23,000 crore) in 2009-10 * Work has started on Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight corridor

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Following are the highlights of the interim rail budget for next fiscal presented by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in Lok Sabha Friday: * Two percent reduction in fares for virtually all classes * Feasibility studies progressing well to start 'bullet trains' in India * Railways will create record surplus of Rs.900 billion (Rs.90,000 crore) this fiscal * In past five years, no burden imposed on train passengers * Railways saw 14 percent rise in passenger income * Railways managed 8 percent growth in freight loading in five years * But freight down in current year due to economic downturn * Drop in train accidents, railway safety enhanced * Rs.700 billion (Rs.70,000 crore) surplus ploughed back to improve efficiency * Rs.367.73 billion (Rs.36,773 crore) spent this fiscal toward productivity, passenger facilities * Railways to introduce wagons with higher capacity * Railways to spend Rs.230 billion (Rs.23,000 crore) in 2009-10 * Work has started on Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight corridor * Dedicated freight corridor from Ludhiana to Kolkata to be inaugurated later this month * Kolkata Metro will be expanded * Frequencies of a host of trains enhanced * Frequencies of several trains across the country increased to daily service * Steps to have railway connectivity to Kashmir initiated * Railways have set up four call centres

January 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Dismissing a public interest petition on trains often running late, the Delhi High court Wednesday said it does not have a magic wand to solve all problems. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah pulled up the petitioner who was seeking directions to the government to run trains on time.

January 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Indian Railways face a legal case for running trains late and putting passengers into trouble. Ramnath Garg, a Delhi resident, has filed a public interest petition in the Delhi High Court who has pointed out that trains running late by several hours put passengers in trouble as they go without food and water for protracted periods of time.