Change in Days of operation and timing of Vivek Express

Railways extends 3 DEMU trains to Katra

The new rail section between Udhampur – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra has been opened for people from Friday.
The following DEMU trains presently running between Pathankot – Jammu Tawi to Udhampur will be extended to run to and fro Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra.

DEMU Train To Katra

The 74909 Pathankot – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Daily DEMU train will depart from Jammu Tawi daily at 7:45 AM to reach Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 9:55 AM the same day, while in the return direction, the 74910 Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra- Pathankot Daily DEMU train will depart from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 2:50 PM to reach Jammu Tawi at 4:55 PM the same day.

The 74905 Pathankot – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Daily DEMU train will depart from Jammu Tawi daily at 12:10 Noon to reach Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 2:10 PM the same day, while in the return direction, the 74908 Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra- Pathankot Daily DEMU train will depart from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 9:45 AM to reach Jammu Tawi at 11:55 Noon the same day.

The 74907 Pathankot – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (5 days a week except Saturday and Sunday) DEMU train will depart from Jammu Tawi at 5:20 PM to reach Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 7:35 PM the same day, while in the return direction, the 74906 Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra- Pathankot (5 days a week except Saturday and Sunday) DEMU train will depart from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra at 7:30 AM to reach Jammu Tawi at 9:25 AM the same day.

The 74909/74910 Pathankot – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Daily DEMU, 74905/74908 Pathankot – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Daily DEMU and 74907/74906 Pathankot – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra DEMU trains will stop at Udhampur and Chak Rakhwal stations enroute on extended portion in both the directions from 4th July 2014.

Rail Budget 2014: Indian Railways to borrow Rs 11,790 crore in 2014-15

NEW DELHI: Indian Railways will borrow less at Rs 11,790 crore from market through its two companies IRFC and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd for capital expenditure during 2014-15.

The estimated market borrowing by these two companies during current fiscal were pegged at Rs 13,800 crore from markets, as per the interim Railway Budget for 2014-15 tabled in February.

Thus, there has been downward revision in the market borrowing plan by Rs 2,010 crore for the current fiscal.

"As I have increased internal resource component of Plan, I propose to scale down market borrowings... to Rs 11,790 crore," Railways Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said in his proposals while presenting the Rail Budget today.

Resources from PPP are kept at the interim (budget) level, he said.

Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) will raise Rs 11,500 crore in 2014-15 for investment in rolling stock and projects, the Railway Budget document tabled in Parliament said.

Besides, the other financial firm under Indian Railway, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), plans to raise Rs 290 crore through market borrowing.

During 2013-14, IRFC raised Rs 14,688 crore while RVNL mopped up Rs 254 crore from the market.

Besides, Railways expects to mobilise Rs 6,005 crore through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) route during 2014-15.

Apps and Sites That Make Train Travel Better

 The Railway Budget 2014, presented on Tuesday is being seen as a mixed bag, but it addressed a lot of digital developments. The budget laid plans for Wi-Fi in stations and on trains, and also discussed upgrade of IRCTC's online ticketing infrastructure, raising the number of bookings from 2,000 per minute to 7,200, and supporting 1,20,000 simultaneous users. Setting up regional food courts, and letting people order the food via SMS or email while on board the train could have a big impact, while a mobile-based wake up call, and destination arrival alerts could come in very handy for travellers.
Some of these facilities are already available thanks to private companies. We took a look at the best websites and apps for people traveling on trains, which can make rail journeys better. Here are five of our favourites:

1. Travel Khana

The new Railway budget has made provisions for improving the quality of food on the trains, which includes ready-to-eat meals of known brands and improved and modernised regional food courts that'll let you order food using SMS or email. You can already get food delivered to your train though, thanks to Travel Khana, a Web-based service which lets you place an order and then track the food until delivery when the train reaches the selected station. For example, if you select the Punjab Mail between Delhi and Mumbai, then Travel Khana lets you order breakfast at Gwalior, lunch at Jhansi or Bhopal, and dinner at Itarsi or Khandwa, with multiple restaurants at each location. At present, Travel Khana has ties with over 1,000 restaurants across India, and offers food deliveries to trains in 80 cities, and has options for group bookings.

2. Indian Train Alarm

Another item in the budget is a mobile-based wakeup call systems, and destination arrival alerts. This will be very useful for travellers who need to disembark at stations late at night, to make sure they don't miss their stops. In case you want to take advantage of this facility right away, the Indian Train Alarm app can help make sure that you're up when your station is approaching. Available on the Google Play store for free, the lets you set an alarm based not on the time, but rather location. You can choose from over 2,500 Indian stations listed in the app, or mark your station on the map.

Making use of the location services on an Android-based smartphone, users can set alarms that go off 5, 10, 15, or 25 kilometres from the chosen station, with a half kilometre margin for error. The best part about the app is that it works even without Internet access.

3. Rail Radar

Rail Radar is a service that was initially launched by the government, but the plug was pulled on the programme last year. Luckily, it was relaunched by Rail Yatri, the company that made the app. The service lets you see where all trains in the country are, in real-time, on a map. It uses different colours to mark trains that are running on time or running late, and you can track individual trains. Rail Yatri also has an Android app which features live train information, integrates with Travel Khana for food bookings and includes features such as a speed check for your train.


 4. NTES (National Train Enquiry System)

If you don't need to see the trains on a map and just want to quickly check timings and status, then the NTES website and Windows Phone apps are a good choice instead. You can check train statuses on the website and via the app. It allows users to check the timings for trains, or get live updates from stations, train schedules, and check for cancelled, diverted or rescheduled trains. If you're an Android user, you can instead use the Indian Train Status app, which uses information from the NTES in order to provide similar information to the users, in addition to a Launch Map feature that launches the default Android Maps application and uses Google maps to show real time location of the selected train. 

5. PNR Status Rail Flight Tracker

This app from online travel agency Ixigo is available for free on the Google Play store, and helps you stay on top of your travel plans. It can check your inbox for messages from IRCTC (and also major airline booking sites) and find all PNR details. Once that's done, the app keeps a record of your travel dates, and helps you view, manage and track your trip status. The app can also alert you if a booking changes status (from wait list to confirmed) and also informs you about delays or cancellations. In case your PNR isn't in your inbox, you can also add it manually, and then track all updates.

These are our five favourite sites and apps for train journeys, but if you have a favourite that we missed, let us know in the comments.

Technology to Help Make Indian Railways More Modern and Efficient: Gowda

Bullet trains are set to become a reality in India with the first service between Mumbai and Ahmedabad as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government sought to make Indian Railways - one of the world's largest - run like a "commercial enterprise but serve like a welfare organization".

 

 In the Railway Budget presented to parliament Tuesday, Railway Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda unveiled many new measures to make Indian Railways, which runs about 20,000 trains and ferries 23 million passengers daily, a modern, efficient and commercially viable utility.

He presented proposals, subject to parliamentary approval, for introduction of 58 new trains, paperless office in five years, digital reservation charts, Wi-Fi in select stations and trains, wake-up call for passengers, separate freight terminals, office-on-wheels for business travellers, more money for cleanliness and safety, food courts at stations, expansion of rail tourism and better connectivity in hilly areas and north-eastern states.

He also promised a diamond quadrilateral project of high-speed rail connectivity between the four metros. He said some identified stations will be developed like modern airports.

Having already hiked passenger fares by 14.2 percent and the freight carriage charges by 6.5 percent, which is expected to fetch additional resources of Rs. 8,000 crore, Gowda focused on ways to earn revenues from other sources, such as allowing foreign equity in areas excluding operations, as also public-private partnerships. Details, he said, would be worked out.

He said Rs. 500,000 crore ($83 billion) will be required over the next 10 years to fund the modernisation plans of the network, as against the actual spend of Rs. 18,400 crore in the past 10 years, but noted that freight and passenger fare hikes alone could not fetch such large requirements.

 

But Gowda also made it clear that commercial viability cannot be sidestepped. "An organization of this magnitude vested with varied responsibilities, is expected to earn like a commercial enterprise but serve like a welfare organization. These two objectives are like the two rails of the railway track, which travel together but never meet," he said in his hour-long speech.

Prime Minister Modi was quick to react. "The Railway Budget keeps in mind the development of India. We can see the great use of technology also," he tweeted, adding: "This budget strengthens institutional mechanism. It focuses on transparency and integrity."

Ranked among the world's top five, the Indian railroad network ferries 23 million people and 2.65 million tonnes of goods daily, or 1.1 billion tonnes annually, from 7,172 stations on 12,617 passenger and 7,421 freight trains over more than 64,000 route km.

With a network stretching from Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir in the foothills of the Himalayas to the southern tip of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, the Indian Railways is also among the largest employers with an estimated 1.4 million people on its rolls.

Shifting to finances, Gowda pegged the total receipts at Rs. 1,64,374 crore and the total expenditure at Rs. 1,49,176 crore while expecting a 4.9 percent growth in freight and a small growth in passenger traffic this fiscal. He projected an operating ratio, or the amount spent to earn one rupee, at 92.5 paise - one paisa more than in 2013-14.

"The Indian Railways will improve system capabilities in e-ticketing to support 7,200 tickets per minute as against 2,000 tickets and allow 120,000 simultaneous users at any point," the minister said, adding that coin-operated vending machines will also be launched.

As regards the high-speed projects, the minister said Indian Railways would require more than Rs. 900,000 crore crore ($150 billion) to complete the golden quadrilateral network and about Rs. 60,000 crore ($100 billion) for introducing one bullet train alone.

"It is the wish and dream of every Indian that India runs a bullet train as early as possible. Madam Speaker, Indian Railways is on its way to fulfil that long cherished dream. We propose bullet trains by starting off with an already identified Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector, where a number of studies have been done," Gowda said.

Modi, in his election speeches, had talked about introducing bullet trains, after seeing them run in Japan and China, if he came to power.

Gowda also listed four new ways to mobilise resources allowing foreign equity, more public-private partnerships, commercial funds augmentation by state-run railway firms and extending tax holidays for long gestation projects

With a poor track record on safety, the Railway Budget also proposed a multi-pronged approach to make train journey safe, secure and comfortable for passengers, with more thrust on passenger amenities, cleanliness and efficient station management.

In a report presented in 2012, an official committee chaired by noted scientist Anil Kakodkar had put the number of rail-related deaths at 15,000 people per annum. "No civilized society can accept such a massacre on their railway system," the report said.

RAIL BUDGET - Catering Services to be Improved

 Food Courts to be Set up at Major Stations:-

 The Minister of Railways Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda has said that in order to improve the quality, hygiene of on-board catering services and to provide variety, the Indian Railways proposes to introduce Pre-cooked (Ready-to-eat) Meals of reputed brands in a phased manner. Presenting the Railway Budget 2014-15 in Parliament today he said, to bring perceptible improvement in the catering services, he proposes to introduce Quality Assurance Mechanism through Third Party Audit by NABCB certified agencies.

He said, in addition to the third party audit, a system of collecting feedback through IVRS mechanism, from the travelling passengers on the quality of food served, will be launched shortly. The Minister said, if the service is not to the standards set, especially in hygiene and the taste, severe action would be initiated against the vendors including cancellation of the contract.

The Minister said, Indian Railways also proposes to set up Food Courts at major stations to provide the option of ordering regional cuisine while onboard, through emails, SMS and Smart Phones, etc. A pilot project will be started shortly between New Delhi-Amritsar and New Delhi-Jammu Tawi sections.

RAIL BUDGET - 58 New Trains to be Introduced 11 Existing Trains to be Extended

Railways proposes to  introduce 58  new trans which includes five Jansadharan Trains, five  Premium Trains, six AC Express Trains, 27  Express Trains,  eight Passenger Trains, two  MEMU services and  five  DEMU services this year.  Announcing this in Parliament today while presenting the rail budget, the Minister of Railways Shri D. V. Sadananda Gowda  also proposed to extend the run of 11 existing trains. 

  Shri Gowda said  these services would be meeting the demand surges which manifest themselves on special occasions.  He said that special trains would continue to run to meet the holiday and festival rush including services for Melmaruvathur, Velankanni, Jhalawar etc.

NEW TRAINS

Jansadharan Trains

i)                   Ahmedabad–Darbhanga Jansadharan Express via Surat

Ii    Jaynagar–Mumbai Jansadharan Express

ii)                Mumbai–Gorakhpur Jansadharan Express

iv) Saharasa–Anand Vihar Jansadharan Express via Motihari

v)  Saharasa–Amritsar Jansadharan Express

Premium Trains

i)                   Mumbai Central–New Delhi Premium AC Express

ii)                Shalimar–Chennai Premium AC Express

iii)              Secunderabad-­ Hazrat Nizamuddin Premium AC Express

iv)              Jaipur–Madurai Premium Express

v)                 Kamakhya–Bengaluru Premium Express

AC ExpressTrains

i)                   Vijayawada­NewDelhiAPExpress(Daily)

ii)                LokmanyaTilak(T)–Lucknow(Weekly)

iii)              Nagpur–Pune(Weekly)

iv)              Nagpur–Amritsar(Weekly)

v)                 Naharlagun–NewDelhi(Weekly)

vi)                Nizamuddin–Pune(Weekly)

 ExpressTrains

i)                   Ahmedabad–Patna Express(Weekly)via Varanasi

ii)                Ahmedabad­ Chennai Express(Bi­weekly)via Vasai Road

iii)              Bengaluru –Mangalore Express(Daily)

iv)              Bengaluru –Shimoga Express(Bi­weekly)

v)                 Bandra(T)–Jaipur Express(Weekly)Via Nagda,Kota

vi)               Bidar–Mumbai Express(Weekly)

vii)            Chhapra–Lucknow Express (Tri­ weekly)viaBallia,Ghazipur,Varanasi

viii)         Ferozpur–Chandigarh Express(6 days a week)

ix)               Guwahati–Naharlagun Intercity Express(Daily)

x)                  Guwahati–Murkongselek Intercity Express(Daily)

xi)               Gorakhpur–Anand Vihar Express(Weekly)

xii)             Hapa–Bilaspur Express(Weekly)via Nagpur

xiii)         Hazur Saheb Nanded–Bikaner Express(Weekly)

xiv)          Indore–Jammu Tawi Express(Weekly)

xv)            Kamakhya–Katra Express(Weekly)via Darbhanga

xvi)          Kanpur–Jammu Tawi Express(Bi­weekly)

xvii)       Lokmanya Tilak(T)–Azamgarh Express(Weekly)

xviii)     Mumbai_Kazipeth Express(Weekly)via Balharshah

xix)          Mumbai–Palitana Express(Weekly)

xx)            New Delhi ­Bhatinda Shatabdi Express(Bi­weekly)

xxi)          New Delhi–Varanasi Express(Daily)

xxii)       Paradeep–Howrah Express(Weekly)

xxiii)     Paradeep–Visakhapatnam Express(Weekly)

xxiv)     Rajkot–Rewa Express(Weekly)

xxv)        Ramnagar–Agra Express(Weekly)

xxvi)     Tatanagar Baiyyappanahali  (Bengaluru) Express(Weekly)

xxvii) Visakhapatnam–Chennai Express(Weekly)

Passenger Trains

i)                   Bikaner–Rewari Passenger(Daily)

ii)                Dharwad–Dandeli Passenger(Daily)via Alnavar

iii)              Gorakhpur–Nautanwa Passenger(Daily)

iv)              Guwahati–Mendipathar Passenger(Daily)

v)                 Hatia–Rourkela Passenger

vi)              Byndoor–Kasaragod Passenger(Daily)

vii)            Rangapara North–Rangiya Passenger(Daily)

viii)         Yesvantpur–Tumkur Passenger(Daily)

MEMU services

i)          Bengaluru –Ramanagaram 6 days a week(3Pairs)

ii)        Palwal–Delhi–Aligarh

DEMU services

i)         Bengaluru –Neelmangala (Daily)

ii)        Chhapra–Manduadih (6days a week)via Ballia

iii)       Baramula–Banihal (Daily)

iv)       Sambalpur–Rourkela (6 days a week)

v)        Yesvantpur ­Hosur (6 days a week)

EXTENSION OF RUN OF EXISTING TRAINS

i)          22409/22410 Anand Vihar Sasaram Garib Rath Express to Gaya

ii)        12455/12456 Delhi Sarai Rohilla Sriganganagar Express to Bikaner

iii)       15231/15232 Gondia Muzaffarpur Express to Barauni

iv)       12001/12002 New Delhi Bhopal Shatabdi Express to Habibganj

v)        54602 Ludhiana–Hissar Passenger to Sadulpur

vi)       55007/55008 Sonpur–Kaptanganj Passenger  to   Gorakhpur

vii)      55072/55073 Gorakhpur–Thawe Passenger toSiwan

viii)     63237/63238Buxar–Mughalsarai MEMU toVaranasi

ix)       63208/63211Jhajha–PatnaMEMUtoJasidih

x)        64221/64222LucknowHardoi MEMU to Shahjahan pur

xi)       68002/68007Howrah–Belda MEMU to Jaleswar

Modi Government's First Rail Budget

New Delhi: Departing Platform One at New Delhi station last week was India's fastest train: the test run of the Delhi-Agra express - dubbed "semi-high speed" by local media - topped a record-breaking 160 kilometres per hour on its way to the Taj Mahal.

But the velocity, though triple the 50 kilometres average clocked on trips across the country, is barely one-third of the top-speed of China's fastest train, showing the extent to which India's expansive but under-funded train network has failed to keep pace.

"The capacity of the track is almost saturated," Anurag Sachan, divisional railway manager for Delhi, said in his office next to New Delhi's giant station. "We could go as high as 200 km but we would need to have a completely new track for higher speeds."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who started out selling tea outside a train station, has promised to modernise India's railways and build high-speed engines befitting Asia's third-largest economy.

On Tuesday, his new government will unveil its maiden railways budget, with expectations high that he will offer bold plans to improve the service - a lifeline for two crore thirty lakh Indians every day.

Among the goals is bringing much more private money into one of the country's largest state-controlled industries. At present, there's small private involvement in suburban services and locomotive manufacturing.

In a speech last week, Modi hinted at how much of a revamp he believed the railways needed, telling an audience in Kashmir that he wanted an upgrade of stations, many of which look much as they did under the British.

"Why do our railway stations need to be so old, why can't they be better than our airports?" he said, after waving a green flag to inaugurate services on a stretch of track in the mountain state.

Railway budget may push Mumbai-Ahm bullet train

Mumbai: The first Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed train proposal may get a push in the new government's maiden rail budget, considering Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of a diamond quadrilateral of bullet trains to connect the four major cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai.
A high-speed train will run at a maximum speed of 320km/h and cover 534km between the two cities in two hours.
Railway officials in Mumbai said a lot of brainstorming has gone into taking the Mumbai-Ahmedabad train project forward as it involves Modi's home state of Gujarat. An official said, "Japan International Consortium is expected to complete the project feasibility report by 2015. However, trains are most likely to originate at Bandra-Kurla Complex."
Moreover, it has been decided that the corridor will not have more than five stations, against the initial plan for 11.
"The station's location at Ahmedabad is yet to be finalized, but the train in all likelihood will start in Mumbai at BKC and travel to Thane (near Diva), before heading towards Palghar via Virar. It will then follow the existing alignment in Gujarat with halts at Surat, Vadodara and Ahmedabad."
The official said in Mumbai, the corridor will run underground between BKC and Thane.
An official said, "The project is going to be major challenge as apart from engineering challenges, we will also have to overcome other hurdles such as land acquisition, cooperation, relief and rehabilitation of project-affected people and raising of funds."
The railways is keen to implement this project on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis with Maharashtra and Gujarat as stakeholders. The project was originally planned as the Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor. Railway officials, though, said its Pune-Mumbai leg may not be financially viable.
An official said, "Thane has been provided with an option to connect the bullet trains to Pune in future."
A view prevails in the state government that the proposed Mumbai-Ahmedabad route will primarily benefit Gujarat more as the route covers three of its premier cities—Surat, Vadodara and Ahmedabad. None of Maharashtra's major cities, except Mumbai, will benefit, the official said.
A pre-feasibility study for the Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad route was conducted by French consultancy firm Systra. Indian Railways, though, has decided to abandon the Pune-Mumbai leg of this stretch as it could turn out to be a loss-making proposition due to poor patronage.

New Facilities In E-Ticket

AMENDMENT IN E-TICKET SCHEME :- The accommodation booked is not transferable and is valid only if one of the passenger booked on an e-ticket in a transaction presents any of the identity cards (Voter identity card/Passport/ Pan card/Driving license/Photo I/d card of Central/State Government/Student Identity Card with photograph issued by recognized School/College for their students/Nationalised Bank Passbook with photograph/Credit Cards issued by Banks with laminated photograph.) during train journey in original and same will be accepted as proof of identity failing which the passengers will be treated as travelling without ticket and shall be dealt with as per extant Railway Rules. Tatkal Quota Tickets: On and from 21-11-2011, Tatkal e-ticket can be booked one day in advance excluding the date of journey from the train originating station and the provision for specifying ID proof at the time of booking a Tatkal e-ticket has been started. The passenger(s) will be required to enter ID proof type and number at the time of booking, which is to be used for travel. These details shall be printed on ERS/VRM as well as in the reservation chart. At least one passenger whose identity card number is indicated on e-ticket should travel. If none of the passengers whose identity card number is indicated on e-ticket is travelling, all other passengers booked on that e-ticket, if found travelling in train, will be treated as travelling without ticket and charged accordingly. No refund will be granted on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal e-tickets. General Quota E-tickets: There is no provision for specifying ID proof at the time of booking a general quota e-ticket.

Change of boarding station & change in name of E-Ticket passenger :- For getting these facilities, customer can now approach the nearest Railway Reservation Office with ‘Electronic Reservation Slip’ print out and photo identity proof in original of one of the passenger traveling in the ticket at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure of train as per extant Railway rules. Please note that reservation offices can change ‘Boarding Station’ & ‘Passenger Name’ against a request from the passenger as per extant railway rules applicable to other face to face counter booked tickets . Facility in the name change of passenger holding confirmed e-reservation has been permitted as per extant Railway rules noted as under:- a. Where the passenger makes a request in writing 24 hours before the scheduled departure of train to the nearest Railway Reservation office. It can be transferred to an-other member of his family, meaning, Father, Mother, Brother, Sister, Son, Daughter, Husband and Wife. He should bring the ‘Electronic Reservation Slip’ print out along with photo identity card proof in original & a proof for blood relation desired to be changed . b. Where the passenger is a Government Servant proceeding on duty and appropriate authority, makes a request in writing 24 hours before the scheduled departure of train. Such request will be granted once only.