Railways to set up reservation booths at airports to help passengers

September 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Indian Railways have decided to install biometric identification system at its vital installations across the country. The project will increase the protection of major IT installations and PRS (Passenger Reservation Service) data centres in view of the threat of attacks, which could disrupt train operations and damage database.

August 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Ministry of Railways has decided to reduce the tatkal charges with effect from October 1. The new tatkal charges will be at the rate of 10 per cent of basic fare for second class and 30 per cent of basic fare for all other classes subject to minimum and maximum charges for each class.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The new aviation regulator, Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), will settle all contentious issues in the aviation sector, including the airport development fee issue, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said here Thursday. Replying to questions in parliament, Patel said: "AERA has been constituted by an act of parliament and has started functioning.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has lost Rs.65.58 lakh in equipment purchases for various international airports, the country's official auditor said Thursday. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said in its report tabled in parliament that AAI purchased X-Ray baggage inspection systems (X-BIS) that screen the luggage of passengers at airports for Delhi and Mumbai airports despite the government's efforts to privatise these airports.

July 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley Tuesday criticised Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee for taking the Indian Railways into "non-core areas", and said that will threaten its economical and social viability. "The fundamental principle of any efficient management is to concentrate on core area of competence and ignore all non-essential and non-core activities," Jaitley said while participating in a discussion on the railway budget in the Rajya Sabha.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Indian Railways will deploy women security personnel and increase their number in the proposed commando battalions, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee said in the railways budget presented in parliament Friday. The women Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel will be deployed to ensure security of women passengers, particularly on routes where a large number of them travel alone regularly, Banerjee said while presenting the budget.

June 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee said that Indian Railways' determined efforts will be to keep enhancing passenger amenities and comforts to a higher level, both in trains and on railway stations. In her message to the Railway personnel after assuming the charge of office of the Union Railway Minister, Banerjee urged all the railwaymen to provide 'service with smile'.

May 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Delhi University (DU) Friday announced 18 percent reservation, an increase of nine percent, for students of Other Backward Classes (OBC) from the next academic session. S.K. Vij, dean of students welfare, said at a press conference that along with the increase in reservation, there will be an increase in the overall number of seats for OBC students in each course.

May 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - A total of 293 polling booths in the national capital have been identified as 'sensitive' and 'hypersensitive' and extra police force will deployed there during polling for Lok Sabha elections May 7, election officials said Sunday. 'The Delhi police has identified 253 sensitive and 40 hypersensitive booths across Delhi.

March 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The country's airports operator, Airports Authority of India (AAI), Friday said airline operators owe it Rs.11 billion (Rs.1,100 crore), of which Air India alone has to pay RS.7 billion (Rs.700 crore). 'We are in the process of settling this issue with the airlines.

March 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The international airports at Chennai, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram, Goa and Ahmedabad will soon get the government's nod to levy development fee on passengers to raise funds for their expansion, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said Thursday. 'We are doing this to bridge the capital funding gap.

February 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Defending the government's decision to levy surcharge on passengers at the Delhi airport, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Thursday said 'airports of certain scale' being developed by the Airports Authority of India could also do the same. 'This should be taken in the right spirit.

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 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government is likely to allow Mumbai's airport developer to charge an additional fee from passengers to help it bridge its development fund deficit, a senior official said Wednesday. It had recently allowed the airport developer in the national capital to charge a similar fee.

January 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Airfares are all set to go up once again as the government is close to working out the airport development fee (ADF) charges - an additional fee for outgoing passengers - at Delhi and Mumbai airports, a government official said Tuesday. 'The ADF charges are being worked out and should be in place by early next month,' a senior official of the civil aviation ministry said.