Update Info

Holi Rush Leads To Traffic Jam On IRCTC Website


           A huge jump in demand for train tickets in the run up to Holi has put pressure on the online ticket booking website of the Railways, which is hosted by Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
In the last few days, average hits on the IRCTC website at any given point during the Tatkal booking hours have touched 10-12 lakh, a 20 per cent increase over the annual average of 8-9 lakh. Tatkal booking hours are between 10 am and noon, when passengers can book a day before by paying a higher fare.
Such is the rush that some users even complained of not being able to get past the login page for the past two-three days. “Our website has seen a surge in hits and bookings in the run up to Holi,” said an IRCTC official, saying that the problems are compounded due to the festival rush.
Earlier this week, tickets booked on the website touched a record high of 5.72 lakh a day.
“On Monday, 5.5 lakh tickets were booked, 4.69 lakh on Tuesday and 5.11 lakh on Wednesday,” said the official, adding that in March so far, over five lakh tickets were booked every day.
Additionally, the festival rush is also reflected in the extra money that people are willing to shell out to book tickets in the Holi special trains that the Railways is running between New Delhi and Mumbai; and New Delhi and Jammu Tawi. Fares in these trains move dynamically – based on demand – and tickets for these trains can only be booked online.
For the Holi special trains to Jammu Tawi, on Thursday, in the AC 2-tier and AC-3-tier segments, people paid about ₹1,400 more than the regular express train fare. Those travelling in the non-AC sleeper segment were ready to shell out ₹440 more than the Tatkal tickets.
Similarly, on the Delhi-Mumbai route, people were willing to pay ₹400 extra (13 per cent more than the standard Rajdhani Tatkal rates for AC 2-tier segment), and ₹350 more (16 per cent extra) for the AC 3-tier segment.
Meanwhile, the pressure on online ticket booking is expected to ease in a month or so once the website’s ₹100-crore technology and capacity upgradation is in place.


Highlights Of Rail Budget 2016-17



Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Railways
Highlights of Railway Budget 2016-17 in Questions and Answers Format (Q & A Format)
For the Convenience, the Highlights of Railway Budget, 2016-17 have been complied in questions and answers format which is given below : -

Rail Budget 2016-17


Q. What is the theme of this Budget?

·         To Reorganise, Restructure and Rejuvenate Indian Railways.
·         A new approach, a new way of working - “चलोमिलकर कुछ नया करें”.
·         Objectives:
Ø  to improve customer service,
Ø  regain the lost modal share, and
Ø  to introduce a new way of working by relooking the processes and structures.
·         3 pillars of the strategy :
Ø  Nav Arjan or New revenues (focus on new sources of revenue),
Ø  Nav Manak or New norms (optimising outgo on each activity), and
Ø  Nav Sanrachna or New Structures (revisiting all processes, rules, and structures).

Q Is this budget reform oriented?

·         Yes, the Budget 2016-17 focusses on consolidation of the vision set out in the Budget 2015-16.
·         Draft Bill on regulator to be finalized
·         Restructuring Railway Board on business lines
·         Forming cross-sectoral directorates

·         Setting up Railway Planning and Investment Organisation
·         Setting up a holding company for Railway PSUs
·         Creating a separate organization Special Railway Establishment for Strategic Technology &Holistic Advancement (SRESTHA) for R&D
·         Creating an organization Special Unit for Transportation Research and Analytics (SUTRA) for data analytics
·         Setting up duly empowered missions to take forward 7 activities with time bound targets – missions are for switching over to 25 tonne axle load, increasing speeds, accounting reforms, commissioning 100 sidings/PFTs in 2016-17, preparing a blueprint of utilizing the network once DFC is commissioned, zero accident for safety and for procurement and consumption efficiency.

Q How is capacity augmentation planned?

·         Plan Budget is pegged at Rs. 1.21 lakh crore, 21% higher than the expected Plan expenditure in 2015-16.
·         2015-16 will surpass target of commissioning 2,500 km Broad Gauge lines.
·         2016-17 commissioning of 2,800 kms of Broad Gauge track.
·         90 new projects involving a total investment of Rs. 1,26,172 crore covering about 8,432 kms covering new line, doubling, gauge conversion and Metropolitan Transport Project (MTP) included in the Budget.
·         In 2016-17, Broad Gauge lines at the rate of over 7 km per day against an average of about 4.3 Km per day in the last 6 years. This

·         pace will increase to about 13 kms per day in 2017-18 and 19 kms per day in 2018-19
·         Railway Electrification - 1,600 kms to be commissioned in 2015-16; in 2016-17 propose to electrify 2,000 kms.
·         High speed passenger corridor from Ahmedabad to Mumbai; SPV to be registered; will bring in modern technology for the country.
·         DFC – three new freight corridors: North-South connecting Delhi to Chennai, East-West connecting Kharagpur to Mumbai & East Coast connecting Kharagpur to Vijayawada through innovative financing mechanisms including PPP
·         Port connectivity: Tuna Port commissioned in 2015-16 and rail connectivity projects to ports of Jaigarh, Dighi, Rewas and Paradip under implementation. For 2016-17, to take up connectivity for the ports of Nargol and Hazira under PPP.

Q What is there for the Common Man?

·         Introduction of Antyodaya Express, a long-distance, fully unreserved, superfast train service, to be operated on dense routes
·         Addition of two to four Deen Dayalu coaches in some long distance trains for unreserved travel with facility for potable drinking water and a higher number of mobile charging points
·         Sale of tickets through hand held terminals
·         Sale of platform tickets through ticket vending machines both cash and card compatible
·         E-ticketing facility to foreign debit/credit cards for foreign tourists and NRIs
·         Facility of cancellation through the 139 helpline using ‘One Time Password’
·         Bar coded tickets, scanners and access control on a pilot basis
·         Progressive CCTV coverage at tatkaal counters
·         ‘Vikalp’ (Alternative Train Accommodation System) scheme to be expanded to provide choice of accommodation in specific trains to wait-listed passengers.
·         IRCTC to manage catering services in a phased manner.
·         Extending e-catering services from 45 stations to all 408 ‘A-1’ and ‘A’ class stations.
·         Explore making mandatory catering services optional in trains.
·         Introducing a new policy where each stall at station can provide multiple products including milk products and OTC medicines
·         Option to our customers for drinking tea in kulhad
·         To convert all operational halts into commercial halts.
·         Information boards in trains to list on-board services and also GPS based digital displays inside coaches to provide information regarding halts.
·         A1 class stations to be manned with duly empowered Station Directors supported by cross functional teams.
·         Passenger amenities and beautification on stations at pilgrimage centres including Ajmer, Amritsar, Bihar Sharif, Chengannur, Dwarka, Gaya, Haridwar, Mathura, Nagapattinam, Nanded, Nasik, Pali, Parasnath, Puri, Tirupati, Vailankanni, Varanasi and Vasco.
·         Aastha circuit trains to connect important pilgrim centres.

·         Porters to have new uniforms and train them in soft skills, to be henceforth called sahayak.

Q What is there for Cleanliness?

·         ‘Clean my Coach’ service through SMS.
·         Ranking of A1 and A stations based on periodic third party audit and passenger feedback.
·         Waste segregation and recycling centres.
·         ‘Awareness campaigns’ for cleanliness.
·         Additional 30,000 bio-toilets.
·         Providing portable structures with bio-toilets at all platforms of select stations for senior citizens, Divyang and women travellers.

Q What is there for farmers?

·         Encouraging development of cold storage facilities on vacant land near freight terminals. Local farmers and fishermen would be given preferential usage of the facility. A policy in this regard would be issued in the next 3 months.
·         Allowing floriculture/horticulture along tracks.

Q What is there for Industry?

·         Expanding the freight basket by looking beyond core commodities
·         Starting a time-tabled freight container, parcel and special commodity trains on a pilot basis
·         Container sector to be opened to all traffic barring coal and specified mineral ores and part-loads during the non-peak season.

·         Existing terminals/sheds to grant access to container traffic, where feasible
·         Review of tariff policy to evolve a competitive rate structure vis a vis other modes, permit multi-point loading/unloading and apply differentiated tariffs to increase utilization of alternate routes
·         Signing long term tariff contracts with key freight customers using pre-determined price escalation principles
·         To develop Rail side logistic parks and warehousing in PPP mode
·         10 goods sheds to be developed by Transport Logistics Company of India (TRANSLOC) in 2016-17.
·         Inaugurating soon India’s first rail auto hub in Chennai to capture automobile traffic.
·         Exploring feasibility of opening up leasing of general purpose wagons.
·         Appointing Key Customer Managers to liaison with our major freight stakeholders.

Q. What are the measures for environment and energy conservation?

·         To reduce energy consumption in non-traction area by 10% to 15%; all new light provisions will be LED luminaire only
·         More than 2,000 locations provided with Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) facility; RWH systems will be provided in a phased manner in all establishments having rooftop areas of more than 200 square metres
·         Environmentally friendly composite sleepers made up of recycled plastic waste will be used over all girder bridges
·         Tender documents for 50 MW solar plants at rooftop issued and facility for another 100 MW being set up
·         To commission 132.5 MW of windmill power plants in 2016-17
·         Automatic coach washing plants to be commissioned in major coaching depots with a holding of more than 500 coaches
·         To convert all production units as well as at least one workshop in each Zonal Railway as green industrial unit

Q. Are there any measures in the budget for Staff Welfare?

·         To tie up with the Ministry of Health for ensuring an exchange between Railways hospitals and Government hospitals.
·         Introduce ‘AYUSH’ systems in 5 Railway hospitals.
·         All gang men to be provided devices called ‘Rakshak’ which will intimate them about approaching trains.
·         to reduce weight of the tools carried by gangmen while patrolling
·         Provide toilets and air-conditioning in cabs for loco pilots.
·         one C T Venugopal chair on Strategic Finance, research and policy development
·         One Kalpana Chawla chair on geo-spatial technology for IR.
·         Rail University at Vadodara
·         Skill development on IR premises with Ministry of Skill Development
·         Railway Workshops and Production Units to develop ‘Centres of Excellence for Skill Development’, focussing on one/two specialized activities for the general public
·         Join hands with prominent NGOs to provide skilling to people in remote areas including wards of Railways employees.

Q. Are there any passenger friendly initiatives to cater to special needs, including Senior Citizens, Divyang (differently-abled) etc?

·         Expansion of Sarathi Seva to help old and disabled passengers requiring assistance at stations.
·         Strengthen existing services for enabling passengers to book battery operated cars, porter services, pick up and drop, and wheel chair services – Rail Mitra Sewa.
·         Ensuring all stations under redevelopment are accessible by Divyang
·         At least one Divyang friendly toilet at each platform in A1 class stations in 2016-17.

Q Are there any measures for the business traveller?

·         For passengers transiting railway network for freshening up before moving on with their business for the day, hourly booking of retiring rooms to be allowed instead of the existing minimum of 12 hours.
·         Retiring rooms to be handed over to IRCTC for management.

Q What is there for Suburban systems?

·         Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) III to be taken forward.
·         Financial closure and an early award of tenders for two elevated suburban corridors between Churchgate-Virar and CSTM-Panvel
·         Raise all low level platforms in Mumbai suburban stations in 2016-17

·         Issues related to East West Corridor of Kolkata Metro resolved and Phase I will be completed by June 2018; working on the possibility of extending the East West Corridor by 5 km.
·         Reviving the Ring Railway system in Delhi in partnership with the State Government.
·         Major programme to build an integrated suburban ecosystem of IR by launching a new investment framework with sharing of equity contribution with the State Governments and ensuring cost neutrality on operations; detailed policy in 4 months.
·         Partnership with State Governments of Gujarat, Telengana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu for developing suburban sections in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai, respectively by deploying innovative financing mechanisms.

Q Are there any measures for Women?

·         To make available of children’s menu items on trains.
·         Baby foods, hot milk and hot water to be made available on stations
·         Changing boards for babies would be provided in train toilets.
·         CCTV cameras would continue to be installed in coaches
·         Sub-quota in allotment of stalls
·         Encouragement to self-help groups to supply food on trains

Q. Are there any measures for youth?

·         Open up IR to 100 students across Engineering and MBA schools for 2-6 months’ internships each year.
·         Wi-Fi at 400 stations in next two years
·         Rs. 50 crore earmarked for Innovation Fund for encouraging innovations and start-ups.

Q. Are there any measures for journalists?
·         E-booking of tickets on the concessional passes available to them

Q What is there for the North East & J&K?

·         States of Mizoram and Manipur will come on the Broad Gauge map of the country with commissioning of the Kathakal-Bhairabi and Arunachal-Jiribam Gauge Conversion projects.
·         Decongestion work on the Jalandhar- Jammu line, an important link to the valley, is going on in full swing. Doubling of two bridges will be commissioned by March 2016, while the other two bridges will be completed by 2016-17.

Q What are the provisions for Technology?

·         Integrating various facilities into two mobile apps - one dealing with all ticketing issues and the other for receipt and redressal of complaints and suggestions.
·         Physical progress on DFC to be monitored in 2016-17 using latest drone and Geo Spatial based satellite technology
·         Initiated system wide integration of IT programs/systems, both horizontal and vertical, akin to an ERP through innovative partnership models.
·         Process leading to award of tenders electronically to be rolled out on a Pan-India basis in 2016-17.

Q Is there anything related to innovation and startups?

·         Setting aside a sum of Rs. 50 crore for innovation grants to employees, startups and growth oriented small businesses
·         Innovation labs to be set up in workshops and production units to support creative innovation by locals and staff.
·         Annual innovation challenge
·         To develop a Test Track for testing prototypes.

Q What is there for State Governments?

·         Creation of Joint Ventures with State Governments for undertaking rail based projects. Received in principle approval from 17 states, out of which 6 MOUs have already been signed.
·         44 new line, gauge conversion and doubling projects proposed in partnership mode

Q How are resources proposed to be mobilized?

·         LIC has agreed to invest Rs. 1.5 lakh crore over five years on extremely favourable terms.
·         Looking forward to setting up a Fund with multilateral assistance for financing railway projects.

·         Non fare revenues
·         Station redevelopment will help monetize land and buildings through commercial exploitation of vacant land and space rights over station buildings.
·         Monetizing land along tracks
·         Monetizing soft assets such as data, software and some of the free services such as PNR enquiry, e-commerce activities on IRCTC website.
·         Target to increase the advertising revenues by more than 4 times the current revenues.
·         To liberalize the current parcel policies including opening the sector to container train operators
·         Expanding our service offerings specially to growing sectors such as e-commerce.
·         Pilot project for online booking of parcels.
·         Revenues from manufacturing activity of production units and workshops for domestic and international market; revenue targeted at Rs. 4,000 crore by 2020.

Q Make in India

·         After agreement for setting up two loco factories in India with an order book of about Rs. 40,000 crore, a similar bid process started for train sets for Rajdhani and Shatabdi services; current procurement to be increased by 30%.
·         Production units and workshops to aim at generating annualised revenues of about Rs 4,000 crore by 2020 through manufacturing products for domestic and international markets.

Q Is there anything special for the passenger services?

For the unreserved passenger
·         Antyodaya Express, a long-distance, fully unreserved, superfast train service, to be operated on dense routes.
·         Addition of two to four Deen Dayalu coaches in some long distance trains with facility for potable drinking water and a higher number of mobile charging points.

·         For the reserved passenger
·         Humsafar would be fully air-conditioned third AC service with an optional service for meals.
·         Tejas will showcase the future of train travel in India. Operating at speeds of 130 kmph and above, it will offer onboard entertainment, local cuisine, Wi-Fi, etc.
·         Overnight double-decker, Utkrisht Double-Decker Air-conditioned Yatri (UDAY) Express on the busiest routes.

·         Modern coaches
·         Designing coaches to ensure higher carrying capacity and automatic doors, bar-code readers, bio-vacuum toilets, water-level indicators, accessible dustbins, ergonomic seating, improved aesthetics, vending machines, entertainment screens, LED lit boards for advertising, PA system.

Q Have any social initiatives been announced?

·         IRCTC has begun the process of empanelling Self-help groups for providing catering/cooking services.
·         Partnering with NABARD to provide support and access to our IRCTC website to ensure extensive e- marketing for products produced by the Self-help groups.
·         Partnered with Khadi and Village Industries Commission to support creation of employment and self-reliance in rural India resulting in the generation of 17 lakh man days; will continue to partner with them
·         Will encourage sourcing of products from SC/ST entrepreneurs.

Q Are there any measures related to tourism?

·         Partner with the State Governments for operating tourist circuit trains and explore the possibility of a revenue sharing model.
·         Recently upgraded our National Rail Museum; promotion of tourism through Railway museums and UNESCO world heritage Railways
·         To spread awareness about our National Animal, the Tiger, we will offer complete packages including train journey, safaris and accommodation to cover the wildlife circuit comprising Kanha, Pench and Bandhavgarh.


Indian Railways to Run Special 'Holi' Trains till 31 March 


        Indian Railways has announced that it will run special holiday trains for the festival of Holi till March 31.
"These (Holi special) trains will be plied from March 23 to March 31 to provide additional berths to railway passengers who desire to celebrate the Holi festival with their families in their native places," Indian Railways said in a statement Monday.
The details of the train time table and reservation can be accessed by dialling the railways' national enquiry number 139.
"The 139-Rail Sampark service has all the relevant information for the passengers seeking reservation and train time table."
Here is the list of special trains and their respective timings:
Train Number
Train Name
Train Source
Stn
Source Dep. Time
Train Destination Stn
Dest. Arr. Time
 00115
LTT RN SPECIAL
LOKMANYATILAK T
14:10
RATNAGIRI
21:10
 00116
RN LTT SPECIAL
RATNAGIRI
06:00
LOKMANYATILAK T
13:10
 01007
LTT MAO AC SPL
LOKMANYATILAK T
00:55
MADGAON
12:00
 01008
MAO LTT AC SPL
MADGAON
17:10
LOKMANYATILAK T
04:10
 01009
SUR PUNE SUP SPL
SOLAPUR JN
10:55
PUNE JN
15:05
 01010
PUNE SUR SUP SPL
PUNE JN
16:15
SOLAPUR JN
20:55
 01011
PUNE HBJ SPL
PUNE JN
22:00
HABIBGANJ
14:40
 01012
HBJ PUNE SPL
HABIBGANJ
18:20
PUNE JN
09:20
 01013
CSTM NGP SPL
MUMBAI CST
00:20
NAGPUR
15:00
 01014
NGP CSTM SPL
NAGPUR
16:15
MUMBAI CST
08:15
 01015
LTT JHS SUP SPL
LOKMANYATILAK T
13:20
JHANSI JN
09:30
 01017
LTT PERNEM SPL
LOKMANYATILAK T
00:55
PERNEM
12:00
 01018
PERNEM LTT SPL
PERNEM
13:10
LOKMANYATILAK T
00:20
 01019
CSTM LKO SPL
MUMBAI CST
12:25
LUCKNOW NR
18:45
 01027
CSTM BSB SPL
MUMBAI CST
12:25
VARANASI JN
15:30
 01028
BSB LTTSPL
VARANASI JN
19:55
LOKMANYATILAK T
22:45
 01029
NGP PUNE SPECIAL
NAGPUR
11:00
PUNE JN
04:05
 01030
PUNE NAGPUR SPL
PUNE JN
05:20
NAGPUR
22:00
01031
KOP HYB SPL
C SHAHUMHARAJ T
18:15
HYDERABAD DECAN
08:45
 01032
HYB KOP SPL
HYDERABAD DECAN
10:25
C SHAHUMHARAJ T
03:45
 01035
MYS RU EXP
MYSORE JN
22:45
RENIGUNTA JN
08:15
 01036
RU MYS SPL
RENIGUNTA JN
12:45
MYSORE JN
23:45
 01047
CSTM GKP SPL
MUMBAI CST
12:25
GORAKHPUR JN
21:30
 01049
LTT DBG SPECIAL
LOKMANYATILAK T
13:20
DARBHANGA JN
04:00
 01053
LTT PATNA SPL
LOKMANYATILAK T
12:25
PATNA JN
20:00
 01057
LTT MFP SPL
LOKMANYATILAK T
14:30
MUZAFFARPUR JN
03:10
 01058
MFP LTT SPECIAL
MUZAFFARPUR JN
11:00
LOKMANYATILAK T
00:15
 01065
CSTM ERS SPL
MUMBAI CST
16:05
ERNAKULAM JN
21:00
 01078
GKP CSTM SPL
GORAKHPUR JN
08:25
MUMBAI CST
23:50
 01651
HBJ GHY SPL
HABIBGANJ
18:20
GUWAHATI
11:30
 01702
JBP CSTM SPL
JABALPUR
19:30
MUMBAI CST
12:15
 01707
JBP DURG SPECIAL
JABALPUR
10:30
DURG
22:15
 01708
DURG JBP SPL
DURG
11:00
JABALPUR
22:00
 01711
JBP PATNA SPL
JABALPUR
09:00
PATNA JN
21:30
 01712
PNBE JBP SPL
PATNA JN
14:10
JABALPUR
04:40
 02181
JBP NZM SUP SPL
JABALPUR
20:00
H NIZAMUDDIN
12:50
 02185
HBJ REWA SPL
HABIBGANJ
23:30
REWA
09:30
 02186
REWA HBJ SPL
REWA
10:00
HABIBGANJ
20:00
 02207
ADI JAT GR SPL
AHMEDABAD JN
15:00
JAMMU TAWI
20:00
 02208
JAT ADI GR SPL
JAMMU TAWI
09:30
AHMEDABAD JN
13:35
 02393
PNBE ANVT SF SPL
PATNA JN
20:00
ANAND VIHAR TRM
12:00
 02394
ANVT PNBE SPL
ANAND VIHAR TRM
18:35
PATNA JN
10:00
 02745
SNSI PURI SPL
SAINAGAR SHIRDI
13:00
PURI
22:55
 02746
PURI SNSI SPL
PURI
19:45
SAINAGAR SHIRDI
23:00
 02761
TPTY KRMR SPL
TIRUPATI
22:40
KARIMNAGAR
11:25
 02762
KRMR TPTY SPL
KARIMNAGAR
19:10
TIRUPATI
07:55
 03060
NJP HWH SPECIAL
NEW JALPAIGURI
12:35
HOWRAH JN
22:50
 03063
HWH NJP SPECIAL
HOWRAH JN
23:05
NEW JALPAIGURI
09:20
 03064
NJP HWH SPECIAL
NEW JALPAIGURI
12:45
HOWRAH JN
22:55
 03126
ANVT KOAA SF SPL
ANAND VIHAR TRM
19:50
KOLKATA
18:10
 03130
HW KOAA SF SPL
HARIDWAR JN
04:05
KOLKATA
06:20
 03133
KOAA PNBE SPL
KOLKATA
20:00
PATNA JN
05:30
 03134
PNBE KOAA SPL
PATNA JN
10:50
KOLKATA
21:45
 03253
PNBE PUNE HOLI S
PATNA JN
11:35
PUNE JN

How Railways Offer Instant Help On Twitter

        Reports about how the Indian Railways’ authorities are helping passengers via Twitter, are very common these days. Be it dirty toilets in the waiting room, or an infant onboard a train who needs medical assistance – all a passenger has to do is tweet to the handle of Ministry of Railways, write about the issue, and wait for a reply. In most cases the reply comes in just five minutes, and the concerned people follow up till required assistance reaches the passenger.

Ever wondered who is behind this quick assistance? It is a team of three people who sit in room number 454 on the fourth floor of the Ministry of Railways building.

It is called the Twitter Control Room.

The team gets active as soon as they receive any tweet with some kind of grievance that needs immediate attention. Railways gets nearly 5,000 tweets in a day. 30% of these are retweets, while 20-30% are comments. 

The Ministry of Railways Twitter handle, @RailMinIndia has 7,75,000 followers as of now.

This team has been trained by private companies as well as the social media wings of Ministry of External Affairs and the PMO. The control room works in three shifts: 6:00am – 2:00 pm, 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm, and 10:00 pm to 6:00 am.

Jat Reservation: Many Trains cancelled/ Diverted For 18 & 19 Feb.


          Many trains have been either Cancelled or Diverted by Indian Railway for today and tomorrow (18 – 19 February). These trains are cancelled/diverted because of ongoing Jat agitation in Haryana. Detail of these trains are as under :

Trains number 12555 Gorakhpur – Hissar Junction – Gorakhdham Express had been shortly terminated yesterday at New Delhi. Train number 12556 Hissar Junction – Gorakhpur Gorakhdham Express will be short originate from New Delhi railway station on 18 February 2016.
Train number 54642 Firazpur – Delhi Junction Passenger, has been short terminated at Jind railway station on 18 February. Train number 54641 Delhi Junction – Firozpur passenger will short originated from Jind railway station on 19 February.

Details of Cancelled Trains on 18th February 2016 :

Trains number 54036 Jakhal – Delhi Junction passenger is cancelled.
Train number 54503/54502 Delhi junction – Bhiwani – Dehi Junction passenger is cancelled.
Train number 54049/54050 Rohtak – Jind – Rohtak Passenger is cancelled.
Train number 54024 Jakhal – Delhi Junction passenger is cancelled.
Train number 14323/14324 New Delhi – Rohtak – New Delhi Express is cancelled.
Train number 14519/14520 Delhi junction – Bhatinda junction Kisan Express is cancelled.
Train number 14085/14086 Tilak Bridge – Sirsa – Tilak Bridge is cancelled.
Train number 54015/54014 Rohtak – Bhiwani – Rohtak Passenger is cancelled.
Train number 64913/64911/64912 Rohtak – New Delhi – Rohtak MEMU is cancelled.
Train number 64932/64931 Rohtak – Delhi junction – Rohtak MEMU is cancelled.
Train number 64915/64916/64914 Delhi Junction – Rohtak – Delhi Junction MEMU is cancelled.
Train number 54031 Delhi Junction – Jind Passenger is cancelled.
Train number 54035 Delhi Junction – Jakhal Passenger is cancelled.
Train number 74013 Delhi junction – Kurukshetra DMU is cancelled.
Train number 54503 Delhi Junction – Bhiwani passenger is cancelled.
Train number 54033 Delhi junction – Narvana Junction passenger is cancelled.
Train number 54010 Narvana – Jind Passenger is cancelled.
Train number 54001 Tilak Bridge – Rohtak passenger is cancelled.
Train number 74011 Delhi junction – Rohtak DMU is cancelled.
Train number 74016/74017/74018/74015 Rohtak – Rewari – Rohtak DMU is cancelled.
Train number 54034 Jind – Delhi junction passenger is cancelled.
Train number 54024 Jakhal -Delhi junction passenger is cancelled.
Train number 54032 Jind – Delhi junction passenger is cancelled.
Train number 54050 Jind – Rohtak passenger is cancelled.
Train number 54025/54026 Rohtak – Panipat – Rohtak passenger is cancelled.
Train number 54008/54007 Jind – Rohtak – Jind Passenger is cancelled.
Train number 14796/14795 Kalka – Bhiwani – Panipat Ekta Express is cancelled.
Train number 54016/54013/54018 Bhiwani – Rohtak – Bhiwani is cancelled.
Train number 54020/54019 Rohtak – Rewari – Rohtak Passenger is cancelled.
Train number 54006/54009 Jind – Rohtak – Jind Passenger is cancelled.
Train number 54023 Rohtak – Jind Passenger is cancelled.
19024 Firozpur – Mumbai Jandta Express is cancelled.


Details of Cancelled Trains on 19th February 2016 :

Train number 74014 Kurukshetra – Delhi is cancelled.
Train number 54502 Bhiwani – Delhi Junction passenger is cancelled.
Train number 54002 Rohtak – Tilak Bridge passenger is cancelled.
Train number 74012 Rohtak – Delhi Junction DMU is cancelled.
Train number 54005 Delhi junction – Bawana passenger is cancelled.
Train number 54049 Jind – Rohtak – Jind passenger is cancelled.

Travel Plans? Check Out Indian Cleanest Cities

           For the second time in a row, Mysuru was on Monday ranked cleanest city, followed by Chandigarh whereas Dhanbad and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency, Varanasi, are among the 10 least clean cities in India, as per the first survey after the launch of ‘Swachh Bharat’ mission in 2014.

Other cities which have found place in 10 cleanest category in the Survey, conducted by Quality Council of India, include Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Surat (Gujarat), Rajkot (Gujarat), Gangtok (Sikkim), Pimpri-Chindwad (Maharashtra) and Greater Maharashtra. 

The least clean cities included Dhanbad (Jharkhand), Asansol (West Bengal), Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), Patna (Bihar), Meerut (Uttar Pradesh), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh), Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Kalyan Dombivili (Maharashtra)

Why Railway Fares May Not Be Hiked This Budget

        Worried about the negative impact of a passenger fare hike, the government is veering towards giving it a miss this time. The Union Rail Budget, to be presented on February, is not likely to increase passenger fares, top sources have told NDTV.

They said that the government has estimated a 10 per cent increase in ticket prices will fetch only around Rs. 4500 Crore but "it may spoil the positive mood about the budget."

Officials said that railways can earn more than this amount by promoting Private Freight Terminals or PFTs and increasing advertising revenues. The NDA government has already increased ticket prices twice since it came to power in May 2014.

The first hike under the current government came in July 2014 with an over 14 per cent increase in passenger ticket prices. It was the steepest one in 15 years. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu did not increase fares when he presented his first rail budget in February last year but the government later hiked ticket prices in November 2015.

The Railways has additional burden of Rs. 32,000 crores to meet because it has to pay increased salaries and arrears under the seventh pay commission.

IRCTC To Offer 25 Varieties Of Tea On Trains

       Travelling by train has now become more fun for tea lovers as Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has come up with a new offer of providing rail passengers with over 25 varieties of tea, which can further be customised in over 12,000 ways. The range varies from 'desi chai' to interesting ones like 'aam papad chai' and 'hari mirch chai' along with kulhad chai, adrak tulsi chai and honey ginger lemon. IRCTC has also launched a mobile app through which orders can be placed.

Another good news for rail passengers is that we have decided to give 10% cash back offer on e-catering orders of over Rs 300," said Arun Kumar Manocha, chairman, IRCTC.

Indian Railways To Restore Services Of All 258 Trains Cancelled Due To Fog

        After reviewing prevailing weather condition and forecast for coming days, the Indian Railways decided to restore all trains from next week which were earlier announced as cancelled due to fog. Beginning from February 8, all 258 trains including passenger, mail and express services will be restored gradually within next week, a senior Railway Ministry official said today. A total 129 pairs of trains which were earlier announced to remain cancelled till February 29, would be pressed into regular service in a staggered manner from Monday and the restoration will be completed by February 13.

Did You Know? India Busiest Railway Station

        Lucknow is one of the busiest railway stations of India. More than 85 passenger trains originate from here and more than 300 trains pass from the station.

Did you know? Most number of parallel tracks/ Three gauges at one station 

Seven parallel tracks between  Bandra Terminus and Andheri – 10km. Siliguri station in North East holds the distinction of having three different gauges present.

SMS-Based Coach Cleaning System Introduced in Northeast Frontier Railway

          To avail the service, a passenger of a running train would have to SMS CLEAN{space}10 digit PNR no to 58888 or enter the PNR no at www.cleanmycoach.com.

A SMS-based coach cleaning system has been introduced by Northeast Frontier Railway in 35 pairs of trains in the region to provide better amenities to passengers.

"This will help passengers of the nominated trains to get the coach attended by on-board housekeeping staff (OBHS) immediately. The SMS facility will be available between 6 AM to 10 PM," Chief PRO of N.F.Railway P J Sharma said.

To avail the service, a passenger of a running train would have to SMS CLEAN{space}10 digit PNR no to 58888 or enter the PNR no at www.cleanmycoach.com. 

Cleaning staff will be deputed immediately and after attending the request, feedback code will be collected from the passenger. The control office will monitor the request and if an SMS is not attended reminder will be sent to the OBHS supervisor, Sharma said in a release.

Indian Railways and a Bankset out to Purify water across 1,000 Station

          Indian Railways has tied up with YES Bank a private sector bank to provide safe and clean drinking water at Railway station by setting up 1000 community water purification systems across India by 2019.

A release issued by the Bank,which describes itself as the fifth largest private sector bank, on Friday said, "In the first phase of the project, the Bank will set up 100 such systems across D' and 'E' category railway stations in the Konkan belt and other locations in Maharashtra by March 2016.''

Discovery Channel Will Premiere 'India's Frontier Railways' On 11 Feb

        Discovery Channel will premiere ‘India’s Frontier Railways’, a series exploring the journey of passengers on the international trains that connect India to Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, on 11 February. The three-part series will showcase the heartwarming stories of reunion, cultures, history and journey of people across borders. With an unprecedented access to film the international trains, Discovery Channel will air the series every Thursday at 9 pm.

While on the face of it, these trains seem to be connecting India to its neighbours, there is much more to it than meets the eye. The first episode is on ‘Maitree Express’, connecting India and Bangladesh, a train that takes 12 hours to make the 392 km journey from Kolkata to Dhaka. Staffing on the train is almost the same on both sides of the border. These people speak the same language, share a history and they all love fish. The episode will take the viewers through a journey that unites Bengal. 

‘The Last Train in Nepal’ will showcase the train that crosses the border between India and Nepal along a line that runs for 20 miles from Janakpur to the Indian junction of Jaynagar. It will also reveal how the line is now under threat of closure following a starvation of funds from the Indian government, which has left the train and the track in a state of disrepair. This episode will showcase the community alongside the border and railway workers who are struggling every day to keep their train and their hopes alive. 

The third episode of the series is on ‘The Samjhauta Express’, a heart-warming film that reconnects families, cultures and history. Viewers will get to see Bilal and his father who are seeking medical treatment in India, along with hockey champion Rahat Khan who is travelling to play an international match. The episode will also highlight on Guru Nanak’s birthday, the railway runs special train across the border to the Guru’s birthplace in Pakistan.

11-year-old boy writes to PM Modi - what happened next

        Ever since he assumed office of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has been urging the citizens of the country to write to him with their suggestions/complaints. But what happens when someone goes ahead and actually posts a letter to him gets seldom reported.

This story is of an 11-year-old boy from Unnao, a small town near Kanpur, who wrote to PM Modi about the problems he faces daily due to the absence of a crossing at the railway tracks between his house and his school.

The Indian Express reports that Nayan Singh, a Class VII student at Chandrashekhar Azad Intermediate College, wrote a letter to PM Modi last September seeking redressal of the problem faced by him and 200 other students, who have to take a two kilometre long circuitous route to reach school.

His family received a letter from the divisional engineer, Northern Railways, mentioning his application sent to the Prime Minister

But there's a problem: Existing rules mandate that a railway crossing or overbridge cannot be constructed till the concerned state government puts in a request with the railways ministry.

However, given the direct intervention by the Prime Minister, Nayan and his friends may soon avoid getting late to school.

SelfieCraze- Is It Getting Too Much

        Attempts to click "eye-catching pictures" to upload them on social networking sites cost three college going friends from New Delhi, Moradabad and Faridabad their lives on Monday when they were run over by the speeding train.

The fourth friend who survived the accident, told police that they were on their way to Agra to see the Taj Mahal on Republic Day and had stopped the car they were travelling in at the railway track to attempt the "daredevil selfie".

In another incident, A bizarre wish to click a selfie against the backdrop of a moving train claimed the life a school student, who was mowed down by the Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) train at Vandalur near Chennai on Sunday evening.

Railway police has been alarmed with locations of clicking selfies by these teenagers. And they are visiting colleges and schools to educated students about the risk it poses to their lives.

Authorities have started imposing "no selfie zone" at popular locations to stop the growing "menace".

Special Trains Form Nagpur To Pune, Amritsar

       The Maratha heritage sites of Pune and the Golden Temple of Amritsar are set to attract more travellers from Nagpur this month. In a move to ease the pressure of an extra rush of passengers on these routes, Indian Railways has announced the launch of four special air-conditioned trains.
Basically, there will be two new trains -- one from Nagpur to Pune, and the other from Nagpur to Amritsar, and both of them will have their return journeys as well, making it a total of four new trains.

Each of these special trains will have 16 coaches, including one 1 AC, four 2 AC and nine 3 AC coaches. The trains between Nagpur and Pune will halt at Wardha, Dhamangaon, Badnera, Akola, Bhusaval, Manmad, Kopargaon, Dound and Pune stations in both the directions. Whereas, the trains between Nagpur and Amritsar will halt at Bhopal, Jhansi, Gwalior, Agra, New Delhi, Ambala, Ludhiana and Jalandhar in both the directions.


New Driverless Train Soon - Delhi Metro

         The trains procured for phase III are driverless trains, which will initially have staff deputed for operation but gradually, they will be withdrawn to move to unattended train operation.

While the trains are designed by Hyundai Rotem, only 20 six-coach train sets were shipped from South Korea. The remaining 366 coaches-that is, 61 trains of six coaches-are being built in the BEML factory in Bengaluru as part of a tie-up between the two firms.

The six coach trains will be deployed on the Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar and Janakpuri (west)-Botanical Garden lines. Train operators are not required to run these trains. The operations control centres of the Delhi Metro system will directly regulate their movement. Because the trains are driverless, DMRC is also installing platform screen doors at all stations in the phase III. The new trains will also be more spacious, promised Dayal. Each coach can accommodate a maximum of 380 passengers. The trains can accommodate 40 more commuters as the driver's cabin is no longer required.

Even the interior is visually appealing. Colourful seats, bum support for commuters to stand near the door and non-skid flooring are some features. A live feed will be available inside the train through a 37-inch LCD display. The new trains will have four motorised cars and two trailer cars. This will help in improving train speed and offer better acceleration and de-acceleration. It will result in saving 12 minutes of the journey time on the 56km-long route. The average speed of the new trains is also fractionally better at 35 kmph. At present, the rolling stock's average speed is 32 kmph.



India's First Railway University To Come Up In Gujrat

       Vadodara will be home to the country's first railway university, minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha has said. "The present campus for National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR), Vadodara, (at Pratap Vilas Palace) will be initially used to start the railway university. After land acquisition, a full-fledged university will be started here," he said. He added that the proposal to set up the railway university had been declared by the railway ministry in December 2015.

"In the first phase, the university will start offering MBA and MTech degrees, after which it will offer diploma and BTech in railway operations," he said. NAIR, formerly known as the Railway Staff College (RSC), presently acts as the apex level training and management development institute for the officers of Indian Railways.



Thiruvananthapuram Central A Truly 'Smart' Railway Station

        What all modern amenities are required in a worldclass railway station? Or what makes a railway station ‘smart’? Passenger friendly services. That’s it!
           Some of the essential facilities include automatic escalators, audible announcements, CCTV, automated ticket vending machines, drinking water facility, cleanliness, etc. And, all these facilities are available at Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station. Passengers of all age groups, especially senior citizens, will certainly experience user-friendly facilities here.
          If an elder man, woman or handicapped needs a wheelchair at the entrance of the station or an escalator at Platform No.1 to reach any other platform, he/she would be immediately provided the same. In line with ‘Touch and Feel’ concept, escalators for physically challenged and senior citizen have been deployed at the station, which makes it a smart station in true sense.
          Besides, cleanliness in every nook and corner of the station is something anybody would have an appreciation for. The platforms remain neat and clean because ‘safai karamcharis’ do dusting and mopping of the station area multiple times a day. Adequate number of dustbins here and there also help keep the station clear of used plastic bottles and wrappers.
         Smartness quotient goes higher when one spots automated ticket vending machines installed at the station to reduce burden on ticket windows, adding to the ease of passengers, and CCTV cameras installed at strategic points at the station keep suspicious activities at bay.

Now, you can book only 6 rail tickets per month from one IRCTC user-ID

        A most of 6 tickets may be booked on-line by a personal user during a month on IRCTC web site.
          Indian Railways has currently introduced new checks on booking of e-ticket/i-ticket through IRCTC web site with a read to any forestall possible misuse.
         The new provision can get result from 15th Feb, 2016. this can replace the existing system under that a maximum of 10 tickets may be booked on-line through IRCTC web site during a month by a personal.
         However, the existing condition can continue whereby these booking are subject to a limit of booking two opening Tatkal tickets in 10:00- 12:00 hours period during a day and 2 opening Advance Reservation amount (ARP) tickets in 08:00-10:00 hours amount during a day.

          This has been done keeping visible  the analysis of usage of quota of 10 tickets that indicated that 90 % of users are booking up to 6 tickets in a given month and only 10 % are making more than 6 tickets.
          It is suspected that the 10 % users could be concerned in touting activities. so to discourage such touts and to facilitate real users, it's been decided that a maximum of 6 tickets will be booked by an individual user in a month.
          In order to facilitate real users and prevent touting activities, various checks have already been place in place for the booking of e-ticket/i-ticket on IRCTC web site.


100 railway stations to get wi-fi in one year: Suresh Prabhu
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on weekday said that in one year at-least 100 railway stations across the country will have Google wi-fi.
"We can start providing Google wi-fi connectivity to just about 100 major railway stations in one year," Prabhu told reporters at the sideline of an event in goa nowadays.
The minister said along with Google wi-fi, his ministry is also attempting to confirm a better client experience for all the travellers United Nations agency take the Indian Railways at all the stations.
Yesterday, Prabhu launched a free high-speed public wi-fi service unitedly with technology big Google at Mumbai Central station here, that became 1st such station in country to get such facility.
Google has partnered with Railtel Corporation to supply the connectivity to the railway stations across country.
In a statement issued Google had said that the four stations wherever free wi-fi facility would be provided before long square measure Allahabad, Patna, Jaipur and Ranchi, and alternative stations can follow very shortly.


Railways unveils train coaches with new, refurbished look

This is a step towards providing higher amenities to passengers and that we can continue to do so in future also, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said after inspecting the new coaches. Enhancing traveler amenities not to mention adequate fire safety measures, railways on tuesday unveiled refurbished coaches with esthetically appealing and improved interior furnishings. this can be a step towards providing higher amenities to passengers and that we can still do thus in future also, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said once inspecting the new coaches. Equipped with added options like controlled discharged water tap, new bathroom modules, fan, LED lights, snack tables for side berth passengers, 24 coaches comprising AC-1, AC-2 and Sleeper categories bogies were showcased. although the coaches are 12 to 15 years previous, all are refurbished at the Carriage Rehabilitation Workshop in Bhopal. there'll be a complete of 111 coaches which might be refurbished with new options at associate degree calculable price of Rs 31.5 crore. It prices regarding Rs 25 lakh a lot of per AC-1 coach to renovate it, Railway member Hemant Kumar said. Asked during which train these 24 coaches are used, Kumar said the route and train has not been determined yet.

35 second wait compulsory to book tickets on IRCTC

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has taken a slew of measures including a 35 seconds compulsory wait to book tickets online through its website irctc.co.in to facilitate hassle-free booking by genuine ticket seekers.

Now it is not possible to book ticket online before 35 seconds mandatory wait as it has been done to prevent faster booking by unscrupulous elements using any other means.


In order to facilitate the genuine passengers, Tatkal booking time has been staggered from 10 AM to 11 AM for AC classes and 11 AM to 12 AM for non-AC classes. A total of about two lakh Tatkal tickets are booked in a day.


In 2014-15, a total 183,021,842 tickets were booked on IRCTC ticketing site. There were about 14.9 crore tickets booked till December 2015.

सोशल मीडिया से सुलझेगी रेलयात्रियों की परेशानी ?

लगभग पिछले एक महीने से रेलमंत्री सुरेश प्रभु मीडिया की खबरों में है। जिसका कारण अब किसी से छुपा नहीं है। प्रभु द्वारा टिवटर के जरिये जिस तरह कभी अकेले सफर कर रही महिला यात्री की परेशानी को सुलझाया गया फिर स्कूल टूअर पर गए बच्चों के लिए खाना-पानी उपलब्ध करवाया गया उसके बाद नवजात बच्चों के लिए दूध और डाक्टर की व्यवस्था की गर्इ। ये सभी प्रयास सच में प्रशंसनीय है। अपनी इन त्वरित कार्रवाइ के जरिये रेल मंत्री ने भारतीय रेलवे का एक नया एवं सुखद चेहरा देश के सामने लाने का एक र्इमानदार प्रयास किया है। इसमें कोर्इ दो राय नहीं है कि रेल मंत्री द्वारा जिस प्रकार क्रिसमस के महीनें में टिवटर के जरिये कर्इ रेल यात्रियों की छोटी-बड़ी जरूरतों, समस्याओं का हल मिनटों में कर दिया गया। इससे रेलयात्रियों को तो  इसका लाभ मिला ही रेल मंत्रालय भी अपने इस नए प्रयोग से खासा खुश और संतुष्ट नजर आया। क्रिसमस के ठीक पहले मानों इस बार सांता क्लाज लोगों की मदद के लिए बच्चों को तोहफे बांटने पहुँच गया हो। वो भी नार्थ पोल की बजाए सीधे भारतीय रेल मंत्रालय से इधर आप ने टिवट किया उधर खाने का सामान, दूध की बोतल, व्हील चेयर, डाक्टर आदि हाजिर।

डिजिटल इंडिया के चश्में से देखने में भले ही यह मुहिम अच्छी लगे लेकिन ऐसे कर्इ सवाल है जो रेल मंत्रालय एवं रेलयात्रियों दोनों के इस तरीके को नाकाफी बताते है। रेलयात्री डाटइन पर जानिए इसके फ़ायदे और नुकसान के बारे में।


27 नवंबर को जब नम्रता महाजन द्वारा महाराष्ट्र में शालीमार लोकमान्य तिलक रेलगाड़ी से टिवट कर किसी पुरूष यात्री द्वारा उन्हें परेशान करने की घटना का संदेश रेलमंत्री को भेज कर सहायता मांगी गर्इ, उस समय उस रेलगाड़ी में सफर कर रहे बाकी के सहयात्री कहा थे ? मध्यस्थता कराने का प्रयास किया या नही ? शायद नहीं! तो क्या ये हमारे असंवेदनशील हो रहे समाज की बानगी है ? क्या ये मामला इतना बड़ा हो गया था कि इसके लिए रेल मंत्री को स्वयं हस्तक्षेप करना पड़ा ? रेलवे अपनी हर रेलगाड़ी में रेलवे पुलिस की व्यवस्था करती है। उस मूल सुविधा का क्या हुआ ? जबकि शालीमार लोकमान्य तिलक रेलगाड़ी का सफर लगभग 2000 किलोमीटर के आस-पास का है। अंत में उस पुरूष यात्री को दूसरे डिब्बे में भेज दिया गया क्योंकि पूरा मामला पुरूष यात्री की सीट के कन्फर्म ना होने का और उससे जुडे़ कन्फयूशन का था।


 वही बीमार पिता के साथ यशवंतपुर-बिकानेर एक्सप्रेस से यात्रा कर रहे रेलयात्री पंकज जैन को जब अपने पिता के लिए व्हील चेयर की जरूरत महसूस हुर्इ तो उसने भी सीधे रेल मंत्री को टिवट कर मदद की गुहार लगा दी। जिसके जवाब मे रेलवे द्वारा वक्त रहते उसकी मदद भी की गर्इ। जबकि रेलवे में व्हील चेयर लेने की पूरी प्रकिया है। ऐसे में क्या उस यात्री को यात्रा से पहले इसकी जानकारी नहीं जुटा लेनी चाहिए थी ? यहाँ हो सकता है कि उस रेल यात्री के दिमाग में ये बात नहीं आयी हो। या उसे रेलवे से व्हील चेयर लेने की प्रकिया के बारे में ना पता हो। ऐसे में क्या रेलवे को अपनी मेडिकल संबंधी सुविधा का खुल कर प्रचार नहीं करना चाहिए ? या रेलमंत्री को हर किसी यात्री की व्यकितगत सहायता टिवट मिलने के बाद करनी चाहिए ?


रेलवे अपने यात्री से उसके डाक्टर होने के बारे में तो जानकारी यात्रा के लिए फार्म भरते समय जुटा लेती है। वही यदि कोर्इ यात्री स्वयं या उसके साथ यात्रा कर रहा उसका कोर्इ रिश्तेदार गंभीर रूप से बीमार तो नहीं है, इस बारे में पूछने का कष्ट रेलवे कभी नहीं करता। अगर ऐसा हो तो रेलवे इस दिशा में संबंधित यात्री की सहायता कर उसकी परेशानी कम कर सकता है। बलिक इसके लिए रेलवे द्वारा बकायदा एक सेवा शुरू की जा सकती है। जो कि हर बार टिवट द्वारा शायद संभव नहीं हो पाए। क्या ऐसे मामलों के लिए रेलवे के पास एक पूरी व्यवस्था होनी चाहिए ? भारत में रोजाना ऐसे हजारों लोग रेल से सफर कर अपना या अपने किसी सगे-संबंधी का इलाज कराने देश के एक कोने से दूसरे कोने आते-जाते रहते है।


हालाँकि ऐसा नहीं है कि भारतीय रेलवे द्वारा इस दिशा में कोर्इ कदम नहीं उठाया गया है। रेलवे में मेडिकल संबंधी कुछ नियम जरूर है लेकिन क्या उन्हें पर्याप्त कहा जा सकता है। प्रत्येक रेलगाड़ी में प्राथमिक चिकित्सा प्रशिक्षित कुछ रेल कर्मचारी होते है जिनके पास फस्ट एड बाक्स भी होते है। पैंट्रीकार मैनेजर, रेलगाड़ी का गार्ड, रेल सुपरीटेंडेट आदि को इसके लिए प्रशिक्षित किया जाता है। वही आपातकाल जैसी सिथत से निपटने के लिए नजदीक के रेलवे स्टेशन में डाक्टर की व्यवस्था करने का प्रावधान भी है। मगर जानकारी के अभाव एवं रेलवे द्वारा सही रूप से इन सब सुविधाओं का प्रचार ना करने के कारण यात्रियों को इनका अपेक्षित लाभ नहीं मिल पाता।


वही बात अगर स्कूल टूअर पर गयें स्कूली बच्चों के खाने पीने की व्यवस्था या बात नवजात बच्चे के लिए दूध आदि की व्यवस्था की करें तो भूल स्कूल प्रबंधन और नवजात के माता-पिता की मालूम पड़ती है। जिन्होंने शायद अपनी यात्रा आधे-अधूरे इंतजाम के साथ शुरू की हो। स्कूल टूअर पर गये बच्चों के खाने-पीने का ख्याल रखना स्कूल की जिम्मेदारी है इसमें कोर्इ शक नहीं। वही छोटे बच्चे के साथ यात्रा करते समय उसके लिए जरूरी चीजें लेकर चलना चाहिए ये सामान्य जागरूकता का विषय है। ऐसे में बहुत संभव है कि स्कूल प्रंबधन का खाने पीने का सामान या नवजात के लिए लाया गया दूध खत्म हो गया हो। जिसकी वजह रेलगाड़ी का तय समय से घंटो विलम्ब से चलना था। लेकिन एक बात जिस पर प्रकाश डालना जरूरी है वो यह है कि रेलगाड़ी में पैंट्रीकार का नहीं होना। जिस कारण भूखे नौनिहालों को खाना नहीं मिल पाया, ना ही नवजात बच्चे के लिए दूध का इंतजाम हो पाया। क्या इसे रेलवे विभाग की बड़ी गलती नहीं मानना चाहिए ? सामान्यता 1000 किलोमीटर से अधिक लम्बी दूरी की रेलगाडि़यों में पैंट्रीकार की व्यवस्था होती है। मगर फिर भी ऐेसी कर्इ रेलगाडि़याँ है जिनमें अब तक ये सुविधा नदारद है।


तेजी से डिजीटल हो रही दुनिया में सोशल नेटवर्किग साइट के जरिये समस्या का हल खोजना गलत नही है। मगर इसे ही बुनियादी समस्याओं का हल मानना शायद गलत होगा। सोशल मीडिया आपातकाल सिथति में एक विकल्प जरूर बन सकता है किंतु भारतीय रेलवे जैसे बड़े उपक्रम की मूलभूत समस्याओं का हल नही। जिसके कर्इ कारण हो सकते है। भारत जैसे बडे़ देश में कर्इ हजार लोग ऐसे है जो सोशल मीडिया को नहीं समझ पाते। गरीब और कम पढ़ा लिखा तबका नहीं जानता की इटरनेंट, टिवटर, फेसबुक किस चिडि़या का नाम है। साथ ही हमारी वृद्ध हो चुकी पीढ़ी या फिर जिनका जीवन ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों में गुजरता है उनके लिए इस माध्यम का उपयोग कर पाना आसान नहीं है। अगर सोशल मीडिया को एक सुदृढ़ हल मान भी लिया जाए तब भी कर्इ चुनौतियां है जिन्हें सुलझा पाना आसान नहीं। जैसे की रेलवे या कोर्इ अन्य विभाग कैसे रोजाना हजारों शिकायत भरे टिवटस का हल निकाल पाएगा ? लोगो द्वारा विभाग को भेजे जाने वाले टिवटस की सत्यता का क्या? स्कूल बच्चों के लिए टिवट करने वाले उनके शिक्षक का स्वयं मानना है कि उन्होंने ये टिवट महाराष्ट्र की घटना से प्रेरित हो कर किया था। उनका भी ये मानना है कि उस टिवट का जो लाभ उन्हें और उनके साथियों को मिला वो उनके साथ यात्रा कर रहे बाकी के रेलयात्रियों को नही मिला। डिजीटल मीडिया, इंटरनेट एक तकनीकी माध्यम है जिसका भरोसा हमेशा नही किया जा सकता। ऐसे में सोशल मीडिया के भरोसे सफर करना या टिवट के जरिये समस्या का हल खोजना शायद भरोसेमंद निर्णय ना हो। टिवटर द्वारा अपनी समस्या का हल खोजने का प्रयास कर क्या हम एक गलत परंपरा को बढ़ावा नहीं दे रहे  ? इस बारे में रेल मंत्रालय और रेलयात्रियों दोनों का सोचना होगा।

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