Nanded Bangalore express catches fire in Andhra, 26 killed.

courtesy:- TNN

The fire occurred in D1 airconditioned compartment and the impact of the fire was felt more on passengers occupying seats from 62 to 72.

ANANTAPUR: More than two dozen passengers were charred to death in a major fire accident in Nanded-Bangalore express train near Kothacheru railway station in Anantapur district on Saturday morning.

The fire occurred in D1 airconditioned compartment and the impact of the fire was felt more on passengers occupying seats from 62 to 72.

There were 57 passengers in the train when flames suddenly engulfed the compartment. Many passengers pulled the safety chain and jumped off the train.

Local authorities said 26 passengers died in the mishap.

The injured have been admitted to government hospitals in Penugonda and Dharmavaram.

The district administration has also alerted medical staff in government hospitals in Dharmavaram and Puttaparthi towns. The railways and state government have taken up massive relief and rescue operations. Fire service personnel from nearby fire stations rushed to the spot and brought the flames under control. The railways had recovered eight bodies till 8am.

The bodies are charred beyond recognition. Many passengers became just lumps of charred flesh and bones. The railways are identifying the passengers based on the reservation chart. As some of the bodies are charred beyond recognition, a DNA test may be conducted to establish the identity.

The passengers were said to be deep in sleep and those who woke up brought the train to halt before jumping out. The flames also spread to next compartment.

The exact cause of the mishap is not clear. It is suspected that short circuit in the AC compartment led to the mishap. Senior government and railway officials rushed to the spot.

Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy expressed shock over the accident and directed that officials shift the injured to corporate hospitals for better treatment.

The fire accident brought to the fore the lack of fire fighting measures including automatic water jets in Indian trains.

Hyderabad helpline number: 040-23310680

Bangalore helpline number: 080-22354108, 22259271

supreme court judgement for Kilometerage allowance to medically decategorise running staff.

Supreme court announced judgement on 6.09.2013, for  allowance in lieu of kilometerage (ALK) to those medically categorized running staff working as CCOR in stationery duties.
     One loco pilot Goods Grade II was found medically de-categorized in periodical medical, after then he was posted to work as Crew Controller. Administration denied to allow him kilometerage allowance since the party is not in running cadre Citation letter no. 12/2004 dated 14.01.2004.  Party challenged in CAT, CAT held over the decision of administration.  After challengeing the same in High Court, High court given verdict in the employees favour. Finally in Supreme Court, Judgement pronounced in the administration's favour.

  Click the link below to  Read in detail the judgement copy of Supreme Court.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B40Q65NF2_7UeDNGT3NvZ2RFODA/edit?usp=sharing

Railways announced Bonus on 4.10.2013

Railways announced PLB Bonus for the the fiscal year 2012-2013 vide RBE 101/2013 dated 4.10.2013. The extract of the above RBE letter is that all the employees will receive Bonus of INR 8975.
    Before festive season.   

HIGH POWER COMITTEE REPORT ON RUNNING STAFF

High power committee Report

High power committee to review the duty hours of running staff constituted under the chairmanship of Shri. D.P.Tripathi submitted its report.

  Here is a brief extract of the report related to running staff.

1.       Duty hours of freight trains crew is 9 hrs from the departure of the train. Total duty hrs from sign on to sign off shall not exceed 11 hrs.  In exigencies it can be extended to 12 hrs.

2.       Mail express trains crew duty hrs up to 8 hrs.

3.       Passenger trains crew duty hrs as that of freight trains crew.

4.       Capital punishment of SPAD cases will depends upon the gravity of offence and also past records of loco pilot in subject, should be considered for deciding punishment.

5.       No change in Fortnight duty hrs of freight trains crew.

6.       Fortnight duty hrs of Mail Express train crew will be 90 hrs.

7.       No decision about classifying the running staff from "continuous" to "intensive".

8.       Cumulative duty hrs for freight trains crew is 104 hrs and max 125 hrs per fortnight.

9.       Out of HQ should not extend 72 hrs. ( here committee played gimmick it mentioned previously it was 96 hrs and committee suggested to limit 72 hrs)

10.   One full night rest after working two continuous nights. Here night means any period between 00 hrs to 6 hrs.

11.   HQ rest should be 16 hrs irrespective of duty hrs performed.

12.   Committee didn't agree to exclude two hrs preparation time.

13.   Outstation rest should be 8 hrs irrespective of duty hrs performed.

14.   Committee recommend PR of 40 hrs, four in a month.

15.   In suburban trains Guard in rear cab may be replaced by Motorman, to work when rear cab becomes leading in terminals. 

 Despite strong agitation from all organisations while constituting the committee to include any retired judge as a chairman, railway board formed the committee unilaterally .

   All the committee members are directly related to railways administration , hence what else we expect from the report.  The report is made considering the convenience of administration. There is no judicious recommendations about outstation rest and other  related issues.

Bihar Train Accident : Speeding trains runs over 35 pilgrims.

 By  Indiatimes



At least 35  pilgrims were killed and over a dozen injured Monday when they were run over by a speeding train in Bihar's Khagaria district. Angry locals and pilgrims set ablaze six bogies of the train, brutally assaulted its driver and took several railway officials hostage.

Additional Director General of Police S.K. Bhardwaj confirmed the death of 35 Hindu pilgrims (Kanwariyas) when the Rajya Rani Express train mowed them down while they were trying to cross the rail track at the Dhamara railway station on the Saharsa-Mansi route of the East Central Railway (ECR).

The death toll may increase because detailed information is yet to come from the accident site, he said.

The train was travelling from Saharsa to Patna when the accident took place between 8 a.m. and 8.30 a.m. The express train does not have a scheduled stop at Dhamara station.

"The accident took place when pilgrims were trying to cross the railway track after alighting from a local train," he said.A top railway official Arunendra Kumar said the express train was not supposed to halt at Dhamara Ghat and had been given clearance to pass through the station. However, some pilgrims waited on the tracks thinking they could stop the train, he said.

Monday was the last day of month-long prayer ceremonies at the Katyayani temple near Dhamara Ghat, a popular Hindu pilgrimage site. The pilgrims were returning after offering morning prayers.

Soon after the incident, angry pilgrims and locals set ablaze six bogies, including one AC coach, of the train and attacked railway officials.

"Some angry people attacked the train driver and seriously injured him. They beat him up mercilessly. Besides, some railway officials have been held hostage by them," a police official said.

Bhardwaj said top officials of the district administration have been asked to rush to the accident site.

Chief Public Relations Officer of ECR, Amitabh Prabhakar told IANS over telephone from Hajipur, the railway headquarters near Patna, that the situation went nearly out of control at the railway station following the incident as hundreds of angry people began agitating.

"The railway officials are not in a position to visit the accident site," he said, adding that there was a lot of "confusion".

"It is difficult to say any thing exact for now. It will take another one or two hours to say anything concrete after security forces are mobilised to clear the agitating people," he added.

In the month of Shravan (July-August), thousands of Hindu pilgrims visit a temple in Deoghar, Jharkhand, where they offer holy water from the Ganga river to Lord Shiva at an ancient temple.

Kanwariya pilgrims in Bihar collect water from the Ganga in Sultanganj in Bhagalpur district. They carry this holy water in "kanwars" (a single pole, usually of bamboo, with two water pots dangling from opposite ends) and cover 105 km on foot to reach the temple.

After offering the holy water, they return to their native places in vehicles or trains.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief at the incident and asked railway officials to launch rescue operations and arrange proper treatment for the injured.

video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydpwq_2g5BQ

Cab Air Conditioning system for Diesel Electrical Locos.

RDSO has developed cab air conditioning system for Diesel Electrical locos in the year 2008, and started installing the same at DLW.

      Cab air conditioning system includes one AC unit in the driver’s cab with input power supplied by 

an auxiliary source.  An inverter of 5 KVA capacity is therefore required to convert 72V DC to 230V, 

50 Hz, single-phase supply suitable for input to these motors.

The locomotive cab air conditioner assembly shall be used to provide interior cab     temperatures in a

 comfortable range throughout the year, thus will ultimately boost the performance of loco pilots.

Tata to make rails for Makkah-Madina railway link

Courtesy :- by PTI

MUMBAI: Tata Steelwill fabricate 60,000 tonnes of high-quality rails for a new high-speed line linking the Muslim holy cities of Makka and Madina in Saudi Arabia, a company official said here Thursday. 

The new line, being constructed since 2009 and expected to be operational late next year, will ferry millions of pilgrims on the 444-km journey between the two cities at speeds of 320 km per hour. 

"This is a prestigious project which will see the two holy cities being linked by rail for the first time. We are delighted to be contributing to this line which will have to overcome some major challenges across some of the most extreme terrain in the world," said Tata Steel's rail sector chief Gerard Glas. 

The steel for the project will be made at Tata Steel's Scunthorpe plant in England before being rolled into rails in lengths of 25 metres at the same plant and also in Hayange in the north of France. 

Running across the challenging desert terrain, the railway line will have to withstand temperatures ranging from freezing to 50 degrees Celsius, besides sandstorms, flash floods and shifting dunes. 

Constructed at a cost of an estimated Euros 12 billion, the railway will carry around 160,000 passengers daily, and many more during the annual Haj pilgrimage, on a fleet of 35 trains. 

Last year, the Saudi Railways Organisation awarded the contract for the final phase of completing, running and maintaining the Haramain High Speed Rail Project to a Spanish consortium of Copasa, Imathia and OHL. 

Haramain implies "two holy places" in Arabic, while Makkah is the place where the Holy Quran was revealed and Madina is the birthplace of Prophet Mohammed. 

En route, the trains will halt at Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City. 

Tata Steel has already implemented similar projects in Brazil and Mauritania.