The Karnataka Express

The Karnataka Express is a daily Superfast train that runs between the Indian Capital New Delhi and Bangalore City, the Capital of Karnataka.

It is one of the most wanted trains, joining New Delhi to South India. It is also one of the most regular and punctual trains in India. The

Karnataka Express has a colourful history. This train was introduced as a bi-weekly for initial years, and then existed as a tri-weekly train

for some later years. The Karnataka Express ran merged with the present Kerala Express up to Jolarpettai and was popular as KK. It ran via

Bhopal, Nagpur, Vijaywada and Jolarpettai. In the remaining two days of the week, it was merged with the Andhra Pradesh Express. In 1987 this

train was bifurcated from the Kerala Express. Karnataka Express then ran via Guntakal, Secunderabad. Later it was diverted via Wadi, Daund,

Manmad, Bhusaval, Itarsi and Bhopal; which is its current route.The number alloted for New Delhi - Bangalore City (down) train is 12628 and

12627 is for the return (up) train. The train has been given the name 'Karnataka' as it connects the Capital of Karnataka to New Delhi. The

nomenclature is same as that of the Andhra Pradesh Express, Tamil Nadu Express, Goa Express and the Kerala Express.

Inspectional News of DRMC

Citing conflict of interest, Reliance Infrastructure has told the government it does not favour the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), its partner in the Airport Metro Expressway in this city, overseeing repair work for the project. Instead, it wanted the railways to take the lead role in this. However, as the railways are reluctant to be involved on a long-term basis, it would only carry out a ‘super check’ on the overall work.

At a meeting between Delhi Airport Metro Express officials and those from the Ministry of Urban Development, various lapses were found on the part of the contractor. According to a decision by the Urban Development Ministry, DMRC would be in charge of overseeing repair work, while the railways would carry out the final check. So far, the railways has not been involved in designing any element of the metro.
          
A DMRC official confirmed the entity would be carrying out repairs. The cost of the repair works, not estimated yet, would be borne by IJM, the contractor entrusted with the work, said a government official.

A joint inspection committee report has concluded all the bearings used in the Airport Metro Expressway have defects and 100 per cent replacement/repairs would be required. The committee, comprising experts from DMRC, Indian Railways and Reliance Infrastructure, carried out a site survey soon after the 23-km corridor between the New Delhi Railway Station and IGI Airport station was shut on July 8.

Delhi Suburban Railway

Delhi Suburban Railway is a suburban rail service operated by Northern Railway for the National Capital Region. This railway service covers

Delhi, along with the adjoining districts of Faridabad, Ghaziabad and other adjoining places in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. These services are

mostly run using EMU and MEMU rakes. This also includes passenger trains and DMU services up to Rewari in Haryana, which is also considered

part of the National Capital Region.  Delhi Ring Railway is part of the Delhi Suburban Railway services.The Ring Railway is a circular rail

network in Delhi, which runs parallel to the Ring Road and was conceived during the 1982 Asian Games. Started in 1975 to service goods, it

later upgraded for the Games, when 24 additional services were started. Its circular route is 35km long, which the train takes 90-120 minutes

to complete, both clockwise and anti-clockwise, via Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, from 8am-7pm. With a return ticket for the entire

journey costing INR12, compared to with Delhi Metro, which is around INR60, it is preferred by poor and middle-class families. It runs seven

clockwise and six anti-clockwise trains at a peak frequency of 60-90 min., during the morning and evening rush hours. However in the coming

decades Delhi spread far beyond Ring Road, making the ring railway largely redundant. Nevertheless, prior to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, 7

stations near the sports venues, namely Chanakyapuri, Sarojini Nagar, Inderpuri Halt, Lajpat Nagar, Sewa Nagar, Lodhi Colony and Safdarjung,

received a facelift at the cost of INR3 crores.
Delhi Ring Rail

The ring-railway service was introduced on a track laid in the 1975 so that the large number of goods trains originating, terminating, or

passing through the city, could bypass the main passenger stations at New Delhi, Old Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin. The track was called the

'Delhi Avoiding Line'. Today, however, the Northern Railway’s service for passengers within the city has become something which Delhiites are

avoiding. There are 12 electric trains on the ring rail. Only three of the twelve EMUs run to full capacity. The rest have just 1-2% occupancy.

The ring railway starts and ends at the Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station with trains running in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions

around the city.

Kerala Tourism

A train journey through Kerala would be a series of sightseeing. Compared to other states, Kerala is more greener; the reason would be the green paddy fields and the tranquility. You can see many rivers, backwaters, estuaries, green paddy fields, old houses, cities and so on. You will not find so many natural things in any other train journey apart from Kerala. From Trivandrum central to Kasargod, You see it all. It would be almost a days journey to reach from one end to the other by train, unless otherwise you are in a super fat train like the Rajadhani express. Rail journey would be best option to reach bekkal and other important tourist destinations like Kanyakumari where the road transport would be tiring.
There are mostly 4 classes in a train namely General 2nd class sitting, Sleeper class, AC 3 tire and AC 2 tire - AC means airconditioned. Other classes would be AC chair car for day trains and for some trains there is an executive class called 1 tire AC, which is comparatively expensive and luxurious. 2nd class sitting is the basic where most of the passengers would be travelling and it is not necessary that you will get a seat to sit. It would be hard to find a seat, but if you are lucky enough you can find one. The sleeper class is where you have folded berths where you can sleep in the night that is how the name comes, during day time you just need a sleeper class ticket, but during nights you should have a sleeper class reservation ticket to claim a berth to sleep or else you will not be allowed to travel. AC 3 tire is where the sleeper class is Air conditioned. 2 tires is more luxurious then 3 tire and is more private area and you will be provided beds. The number of seats and berths are also less. Executive class is an exception and is not available in all trains.

Red Ribbon Express

Red Ribbon Express is an AIDS/HIV awareness campaign train by the Indian Railways. The motto of the Red Ribbon Express is “Embarking on the journey of life. The Red Ribbon Express was launched in India on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2007. The seven coach train was flagged off by United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The Red Ribbon Express became the first time information and awareness about HIV/AIDS was disseminated through a train service, Indian Railways. Initial talk of the HIV/AIDS awareness train began over two years before its launch. The idea of the Red Ribbon Express was developed by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, the National AIDS Control Organisation and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan in 2004. This second phase aimed to reach out to a larger portion of the rural poor and the government hoped that more people would get tested and treated.The train was designed and fabricated by JWT(Delhi Office, INDIA). The train was designed and fabricated by DESIGN C (JWT). Mr.P.P.Mokashi (VP) and Vineet Pandey (Project Manager) operated and maintained whole year during phase-1(2007-08) and phase-2(2009-10).

Kharagpur

The first Railway establishment at Kharagpur started with the commissioning of the rail link between Cuttack – Balasore – Kharagpur and from Sini to Kolaghat via Kharagpur. Kharagpur as a junction station was established in Railway map in December 1898. It is said that the people were initially afraid to travel by train for the fear of accident over the bridge (fear of collapsing of bridge), fear of getting outcaste status since there were no separate seating arrangement for different castes and religions. However, things changed due to famines in the early 20th century. The Railway Company came forward and offered jobs to the local unemployed men, gave them free ride by train and even offered a blanket for traveling by train. This promotional scheme broke the taboos and made rail transport acceptable to the society.

Midnapur, the district headquarters was connected (up to the bank of Kasai river) in February 1900. Construction of the bridge over Kasai completed in June 1901. The rail line from Howrah to Kolaghat up to the eastern bank and from Kharagpur up to western bank of Rupnarayan River was completed in 1899. However through trains between Howrah and Kharagpur could only be possible in April 1900 after the bridge over Rupnarayan river was completed.

Howrah – Amta light Railway (2 ft gauge - 610 mm ) line was completed in 1898 and was operated by M/s Martin & Co. of Calcutta. This link remained operative till 1971. After closure of the light railways, demand for a broad gauge line between Howrah and Amta gained momentum. The project got completed in four phases. In the first phase, the line between Santragachhi and Domjur was completed in 1984. In the 2nd phase under Project Unigauge it got extended up to Bargachia in 1985. Extension up to Mushirhat (Mahendralal Nagar station) was completed in 2000 and the final lap up to Amta got completed in December 2004.

The need for rail link between Panskura and Tamluk was conceived at the beginning of 20th century, almost at the same time when the rail link between Howrah and Kharagpur was opened. Railway company received offers for construction from two Agencies, M/S Martin & Company and M/s Babu Nibaran Chandra Dutta. The former against guaranteed return of 3.5% while the latter without any guarantee. Although the offer of the latter was lucrative, the dilemma of whether to offer the work of construction to a native or not forced the project to be abandoned. After Independence, the requirement of rail link connecting Panskura and Durgachak came up primarily for the purpose of constructing Haldia Port. The rail link between Panskura – Durgachak via Tamluk completed in 1968, which was later on extended to Haldia in 1975. Extension of rail link to Digha from Tamluk was sanctioned in 1984 and it took 20 years to complete this project in two phases, the first phase of linking Tamluk and Kanthi completed in November 2003 and the tourist destination Digha got connected to Howrah/Shalimar in December 2004

IR Budget

Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi presented his budget where in he proposed to raise rail fares across all classes. Safety as recommended by the

Anil Kakodkar Committee was the main focus area. The budget, as many did say, was very bold. The financial health of Indian Railways has not

been very good since over the past decade there has not been any increase in fares. On the other hand, costs have gone up significantly.


Indian Railways has become a toy in the hands of the politicians that they use for their own benefit. During last one decade, there has been

mushroom growth of new passenger trains on an already insufficient rail infrastructure in the country. During last five years, addition of more

than five hundred new trains, increasing the frequency of trains and adding more coaches per train has left Indian Railways in a tight spot.

Today, IR needs spare capacity. Such a massive addition of passenger trains every year without any serious thought, mainly on political

consideration, has severe implications on safety preparedness of railways. Further, neither any system or mechanism exists to evaluate safety

risk of such uncoordinated measures nor has any effort been undertaken to ameliorate the worsening conditions created by such an act.