The Hindu : Focus on safety and security of trains

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 27, 2003

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National

Focus on safety and security of trains

The following are excerpts from the speech of the Railway Minister, Nitish Kumar, who introduced the Railway budget 2003-2004 in Parliament on Wednesday:

Mr. Speaker Sir, I rise to present the budget estimates for 2003-2004 for the Indian Railways.

Introduction

At the outset, I express my profound gratitude to the Honourable Prime Minister for launching the National Rail Vikas Yojana, which involves the strengthening of the Golden Quadrilateral, augmenting rail connectivity to ports and also the construction of four mega bridges. This non-budgetary initiative is bound to accelerate the growth of the Indian Railways, which is the lifeline of the Nation.

Safety

I am aware of the concern expressed both inside and outside Parliament on the vital issue of safety. In pursuance of the commitment made by me during the winter session of Parliament, a White Paper covering the entire spectrum of the issues involved in safety in train operations would be presented during the course of this session.

One of the major contributing factors for accidents has been found to be human failure. In this context, the filling of vacancies in safety categories in Group `D' has assumed importance. It has been decided to fill up more than 20,000 such vacancies through Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) within the next one year. Training plays an important role in increasing the efficiency of the employees. Railways are determined to effect continuous improvement in safety-related training and to enable this, the training facilities at all Zonal Training Centres, seven Supervisory Training Centres and eight Central Engineering Training Centres are being suitably upgraded. Modules on disaster management are also being prepared. To this end, new works at a cost of Rs. 41 crores are proposed to be taken up.

Anti-Collision Device

ACD is an intelligent microprocessor-based equipment developed indigenously to prevent collisions. When installed on locomotives, brake vans and at stations and level crossing gates, these ACDs network among themselves to prevent accident-like conditions involving collision of trains.

Continuous track circuiting enables detection of discontinuities caused by rail/weld fracture or acts of sabotage. To minimise injuries during rail travel, coaches are being redesigned without any sharp corners in the interior and duly padding up vulnerable areas..

Passenger amenities

Encouraged by the response to the pilot project of the Unreserved Ticketing System in Delhi, it is proposed to implement this in other areas of the Northern Railway and on the North-Eastern, the East Central, the Eastern and the Northeast Frontier Railways.

To obtain a refund against a reserved ticket after the departure of a train is still a problem for passengers. Hence, in addition to the existing facilities, it is proposed to permit refunds of the amount due from any PRS centre, three hours after the train has reached its destination.

In case a confirmed or RAC ticket is lost by a passenger, a duplicate ticket can be issued, before preparation of Reservation Chart, on payment of 10 or 25 per cent of full fare based on the distance of journey or type of train. As a customer friendly measure, it is proposed that charges for issuing such a duplicate ticket would be refundable at a PRS Centre at the destination on completion of the journey performed on such a ticket.

Concessions

Senior citizens of our country are being granted 30 per cent concession in fares in all classes and in all trains. This concession is available to men of the age of 65 years and above and women of age 60 and above. I am glad to announce that now both men and women will be entitled for the senior citizen concession on attaining the age of 60 years.

Cancer and Thalassemia Major patients and heart patients, travelling for the purpose of heart surgery, alone or accompanied by an attendant, are presently entitled to a concession of 75 per cent in first class and second class. It has been decided to extend 75 per cent concession in AC 3-tier and AC chair car and grant 50 per cent concession in AC first class and AC 2-tier of Mail/Express trains. Kidney patients undertaking train journey for the purpose of treatment would also be granted similar travel concessions.

The Honourable Prime Minister, during his visit to Srinagar, had announced that the first train will roll into the Kashmir Valley by August 15, 2007In 2003-2004, the Railways propose to complete 225 km of new lines, including the following sections: Panvel-Karjat, Sasaram-Nokha of Ara-Sasaram, Kakdweep-Namkhana of Lakshmikantapur-Namkhana, Bajalta-Udhampur of Jammu-Udhampur, Una-Churaru Takrala of Nangaldam-Talwara, Kakinada-Kotipalli restoration, Mahendralalnagar-Amta of Howrah-Amta, Hassan-Sharavanabelagola of Hassan-Bangalore, Tilaiya-Jagdishpur of Rajgir-Tilaiya.

Gauge conversion

During the year, the gauge conversion of Vadalur-Vriddhachalam, Dharmabad-Nizamabad and Jankampet-Bodhan sections has been completed. I am happy to state that against the original target of 791 km of gauge conversion set for the current year, nearly 900 km is likely to be achieved. This includes Latur-Latur Road, new line portion of Miraj-Latur, Mangalore-Kabakaputtur, Virudhunagar-Rajapalayam, Katpadi-Pakala-Tirupati, Surendernagar-Pipavav, Rajkot-Junagarh and Samdari-Jasai.

During 2003-2004, a target of over 775 km of gauge conversion has been proposed, which include the following sections: New Jalpaiguri/Siliguri-Samuktala of New Jalpaiguri-New Bongaigaon, Bandikui-Bharatpur of Bandikui-Agra, Jasai-Munabao of Luni-Munabao, Kabakaputtur-Subrahmanya Road of Hassan-Mangalore, Villupuram-Pondicherry, Rajapalaiyam-Tenkasi of Quilon-Tiruchendur and Virudhunagar-Tenkasi, Vadalur-Cuddalore of Salem-Cuddalore, Thanjavur-Kumbakonam of Thanjavur-Villupuram, Gondia-Balaghat of Jabalpur-Gondia and Junagarh-Veraval with extension to Somnath of Rajkot-Veraval Dhola-Bhavnagar

Further, I am happy to announce that the works of the Bhind-Etawah new line as part of the Guna-Etawah and Mansi-Saharsa gauge conversion are in good progress and likely to be completed during 2004.

Suburban projects

I am happy to state that necessary approvals for the Mumbai Urban Transport Project Phase-I have been obtained.

I am happy to state that gauge conversion of Chennai Beach to Egmore has been commissioned recently. The section from Tambaram to Chengalpattu is likely to be completed by March 2004. Honourable Members would be pleased to know that considering the public need, it has been decided to provide a direct link between Chennai Central and Chennai Egmore. This link would benefit commuters as well as long distance passengers and would relieve them of the irksome transhipment between the two stations.

As regards MRTS, the work of Tirumailai to Vellachery is expected to be completed by June 2003. The multi-modal transportation system for the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad is making satisfactory progress and upgradation of railway infrastructure in the Hyderabad-Secunderabad-Falaknuma section and the Hyderabad-Lingampalli sections is likely to be completed by March 2003.

There have been demands of beautification of the stations on circular railway at Kolkata to improve the overall ambience along the bank of river Hoogly. I am happy to inform that it is proposed to give a face-lift to the stations along with plantation and ornamental fencing in between the stations.

Sir, I would now like to mention about introduction of new trains, increase in frequency of trains and extension of services. The following additional Express trains are proposed to be introduced in 2003-2004: Sealdah-Asansol via Barddhaman (daily), Jabalpur-Kota via Bina (daily), Surat-Mumbai (Bandra) (daily), Azamgarh-Delhi via Lucknow (daily), Secunderabad-Sirpurkagaznagar via Kazipet (daily), Sambalpur-Raipur via Titlagarh (daily), Tinsukhia-Mariani (daily), Chennai Egmore-Erode via Tiruchchirappalli (daily), Jaipur-Udaipur via Ajmer and Chittaurgarh (daily) (MG), Ballia-Sealdah via Barauni (daily), Gaya-New Delhi via Allahabad (daily), Vijayawada -Secunderabad (daily), Lucknow-Agra Cantt. (daily), Rewa- New Delhi via Allahabad (daily), Chirimiri-Rewa via Katni (daily), Salem-Bangalore (Yeshwantpur) (daily), Jaynagar-Narkatiaganj (daily) (MG), New Alipurduar-Siliguri (daily) after gauge conversion, New Alipurduar-New Jalpaiguri (daily) after gauge conversion, New Jalpaiguri-Siliguri (daily) after gauge conversion, Bhavnagar-Ahmedabad (daily) after gauge conversion, Bhavnagar-Mumbai (Bandra) (daily) after gauge conversion, Lucknow-Mumbai (Lokmanya Tilak terminus) via Jhansi (tri-weekly), Jabalpur-Nagpur via Itarsi (tri-weekly), Ajmer-Mumbai Central (tri-weekly), Allahabad-Haridwar via Pratapgarh and Lucknow (tri-weekly), Bangalore (Yeshwantpur)-Nizamuddin via Secunderabad (tri-weekly), Varanasi-Howrah via Mughalsarai and Patna (tri-weekly), Pune-Nagpur via Manmad (bi-weekly), Tatanagar-Amritsar via Mughalsarai and Lucknow (bi-weekly), Durg-Gorakhpur via Bilaspur, Katni and Allahabad (bi-weekly), Bangalore-Mumbai (Lokmanya Tilak Terminus) via Hubli and Pune (bi-weekly), Chennai-Dehradun and Chandigarh via New Delhi and Saharanpur (weekly), Bikaner-Secunderabad via Kazipet (weekly), Puri-Guwahati via Asansol (weekly), Ranchi (Hatia) Bangalore (Yeshwantpur) via Jharsuguda and Visakhapatnam (weekly), Pune-Patna via Allahabad (weekly), Bhubaneshwar-Bangalore (Yeshwantpur) via Visakhapatnam (weekly),

Vasco-Chennai via Hubli (weekly), Trivandrum-Jodhpur via Madgaon (weekly), Ranchi-Mumbai (Lokmanya Tilak Terminus) via Rourkela and Nagpur (weekly), Chennai-Bangalore (weekly), Dibrugarh-Amritsar via Varanasi and Lucknow (weekly), Sealdah-Jaipur via Tundla (weekly), Vijayawada-Mumbai (Lokmanya Tilak Terminus) via Wadi (weekly), Ahmedabad-Dhanbad via Tundla, Mughalsarai and Parasnath (weekly), Guwahati-Secunderabad via Vijayawada (weekly), Muzaffarpur-Bangalore (Yeshwantpur) via Katihar and Howrah (weekly), Okha-Guwahati via Varanasi and Patna (weekly), Indore-Nagpur via Dewas and Maksi (weekly).

Honourable Members will be happy to know that weekly frequencies of some popular trains shall be increased. The details are: 2313/2314 Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express from four days to five, 2443/2444 Bhubaneshwar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express from one day to two days, 2439/2440 Ranchi-New Delhi Rajdhani Express from one day to 2 days, 2441/2442 Bilaspur-New Delhi Rajdhani Express from one day to two days, 2129/2130 Pune-Howrah Azad Hind Express from four days to five, 2561/2562 Darbanga-New Delhi Swatantrata Senani Express from four days to daily, 5025/5026 Gorakhpur-Mumbai (Lokmanya Tilak Terminus) Godaan Express from one day to three days, 4311/4312 Bareilly-New Bhuj Ala Hazrat Express from two days to four, 7017/7018 Secunderabad-Rajkot Express from two days to three, 2101/2102 Mumbai (Lokmanya Tilak Terminus)-Howrah Jnaneshwari Express from three days to four, 5631/5632 Guwahati-Jodhpur and Bikaner Express from 1 day to 2 days, 2141/2142 Patna-Mumbai (Lokmanya Tilak Terminus) Express from four days to six and 2905/2906 Howrah-Hapa Express from 1 day to 2 days.

It gives me great pleasure to announce the extension of run of the following services: 2983/2984 Jaipur-Durg Express to Bilaspur, 9113/9114 Jammu Tawi-Amritsar Express to Firozepur,

7029/7030 Hyderabad-Ernakulam Sabari Express to Trivandrum three days a week, 9169/9170 Varanasi-Ahmedabad Express to Okha, 6512/6511 Bangalore (Yeshwantpur)-Durg Express to Bilaspur, 8611/8612 Ranchi-Garwa Road Express to Varanasi, 6513/6514 Bangalore (Yeshwantpur)-Solapur Express to Bijapur, 2905/2906 Howrah-Hapa Express to Porbander, 6305/6306 Ernakulam Calicut Express to Cannanore, 8189/8190 Alleppey-Bokaro Express to Dhanbad, 297/298 Kota-Gwalior Passenger to Bhind, 9503/9504 Jamnagar-Ahmedabad Inter-City Express to Surat, 9307/9308 Indore-Gwalior Express to Bhind, 8183/8184 Danapur-Bilaspur South Bihar Express to Durg (daily), 1/2 CCM Mirzapur-Chopan Passenger to Shaktinagar, Allahabad 409/410 Bilaspur-Shahdol Passenger to Rewa, 3149/3150 Sealdah-New Jalpaiguri Kanchan Kanya Express to Alipurduar after gauge conversion, 1463/1464 Jabalpur-Rajkot Express to Veraval after gauge conversion, 103/104 Chennai Egmore-Villupuram Passenger to Pondicherry after gauge conversion, 437/438 and 439/440 Mankapur-Katra Passenger trains to Faizabad, 3467/3468 Bhagalpur-Patna Vikramshila Express to New Delhi, 2069/2070 Raigarh-Durg Janshatabdi to Dongargarh, Delhi-Kota coaches of 9019/9020 Mumbai (Bandra)-Dehradun Express to Nimach and 7225/7226 Vijayawada-Hubli Amravati Express to Vasco once a week

I also propose to introduce MEMU/DEMU services on the following sections: Pendra Road-Bilaspur, Adra-Bhaga, Bhojudih-Chandrapura, Jaunpur-Aunrihar, Adra-Midnapur, Virar-Dahanu Road, Mokama-Patna, Adra-Purulia, Bhojudih-Bhaga, Bishnupur-Adra and Adra-Bhojudih.

Passenger services

Sir, this year I do not propose any increase in Passenger fares. Last year, the fare structures of Mail/Express, Ordinary Passenger trains and Monthly Season Tickets (MST) were rationalised. This year, it is proposed to rationalise the fares of Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains. A separate fare structure for Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains was introduced in 1995-96, which does not have a fixed relationship with the fares of Mail/Express trains. It is now proposed to link the fares of Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains to the rationalised fare structure of Mail/Express trains, fixing the basic fare for each class of Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains 15 per cent higher than the fares of corresponding class of Superfast Mail/Express trains on a uniform basis. Charges for catering services, as per requirement of the journey, would be added to the basic fares.

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