Vendors on the India Railway System

Anything is available for sale inside an Indian train and at India railway stations - from safety pin to quiz books to bananas to shoe polishing services to dried fruits. You name it, and it is yours (for the right price)! Not all the vendors are approved by the India railway system, though.

A Indian train is a big bazaar on wheels, so be sure to carry a bunch of coins and small change during your India travel. The vendors are part and parcel of the India railway system. When a train reaches a station, the vendors swarm the windows like bees on a honeycomb, with everyone shouting out their fare for sale. All the goods sold are very thoughtfully suited to be exchanged through the 4-inch or so gap of the window grille. If you are sitting at the window seat, co-passengers may request to use your window to buy stuff they need.

Generally the train stops for two minutes at each station, but at major stations this can be up to 30 minutes. Make sure you shift your huge backpack close to the exit door when the train is about to reach your destination. All sorts of frenzied activities like buying, selling, and boarding takes place two minutes before the train leaves. Departure is announced by a long whistle, after which the train slowly begins its journey again.

Improvment Program of IR

Human faeces is scattered across India’s 64,400 kilometres of rail lines.

One of the world’s largest surface transport networks, carrying 30 million people and 2.8 tonnes of goods daily, is being downed by those using it.

A government panel report this month said that human waste from open-discharge toilets used by passengers is damaging tracks and associated infrastructure.

The report recommended that toilets with nil or harmless discharge be installed within the next five years in all 43,000 carriages used by the railways.

“Apart from the issue of hygiene, this has several serious safety implications arising out of corrosion of rails and related hardware,” the report said.

Waste is dumped directly on to the tracks through small holes from western-style and squat toilets inside trains.

Only a handful of luxury tourist trains like the “Palace on Wheels”, running between New Delhi and Rajasthan, have bathrooms with well-built toilets.

In a country where millions lack access to basic sanitation, it is not unusual to see people urinating and defecating in public near train lines, particularly in suburban areas.

Many passengers ignore requests to not use toilets when trains halt. Apart from the unbearable stench it creates, the practice leads to clogging of rail lines at busy stations.

The safety review committee appointed by the railway ministry and led by top Indian scientist Anil Kakodkar estimated that 30 billion rupees ($609.5 million) would be needed to fit new toilets over the next five years.

Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi will present the annual railway budget on March 14. A fare hike, vital to generate more money to invest in improving the creaking system, may be on the cards, although Trivedi’s political boss Mamata Banerjee is pushing against higher prices.

Penukonda Rail Accident

The death toll in the train accident in Andhra Pradesh has risen to 24, with over 35 people injured, sources say. The Hampi Express collided with a stationary goods train at Penukonda in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh early on Tuesday morning. The accident happened at around 3:15 am on Tuesday.

Earlier, Railway Minister Mukul Roy had said, "It is a sad incident. I have ordered for a probe. I am going to the accident site. The Indian Railway is trying to implement TPWS (Train Protection Warning System) as early as possible," Roy said.

The Hampi Express was on its way to Bangalore and reportedly overshot the signal.

Rescue operations and efforts to restore the track are underway. Four bodies were still stuck in the wreckage. Railway Board Members (Traffic), KK Srivastava, and (Mechanical) Keshav Chandra have also left for the spot. Commissioner of Railway Safety (Southern Circle), SK Mittal will conduct a statutory inquiry and has been asked to submit a report at the earliest.

The Railway Ministry has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the families of the dead, Rs 1 lakh for those with grievous injuries and Rs 50,000 for those with simple injuries. Karnataka Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh to the victims' families and Rs 25,000 to those who are injured.

Three bogies of the Hampi Express got derailed. The accident caused the first two compartments of the train to catch fire. Reports say there was a short circuit in the first compartment.

Reports said the Hampi Express was over-speeding and overshot a signal due to which it collided with the goods train. However the spokesperson for the railways said that nothing could be confirmed until the probe was over.

Chennai Metro Rail

Chennai Metro Rail

New Delhi (PTI): Work on the much-awaited Chennai Metro Rail Project is expected to begin by October this year with the Japanese government giving its nod for concessional assistance to build the transport system.

The Tamil Nadu government will sign the agreement with the Japanese government which is providing Rs 852.69 crore for the prestigious project in September.

"The Japanese government has agreed to extend more than Rs 800 crore for providing a better transport system to the city. This is just the first instalment and we will be signing an agreement with them sometime next month," Syed Munir Hoda, Chairman, Chennai Metro Rail Corporation, told PTI.

The total project cost is estimated at Rs 11,124 crore, while Japan will provide Rs 8,646 crore to establish a 45-km long mass rapid transport system in the form of metro and elevated railways. The remaining cost will shared by both state government and the Centre.

"We are pursuing the project on fast-track and we intend to start work on it by this October," Chief Secretary L K Tripathi said.

"The project is in pre-Public Investment Board stage and once it is cleared by the board, then it will go for the Cabinet approval," he said.

"Once the agreement is signed between the state government and the Japanese side, we will start the work on the project," Hoda said.

Konkan Railway

The Konkan Railway was the missing link between India’s commercial capital, Mumbai, and Mangalore. The 760-kilometre line connects Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka States — a region of criss-crossing rivers, plunging valleys and mountains that soar into the clouds.

The Konkan is a coastal strip of land bounded by the Sahyadri hills on the east, and Arabian Sea on the west. It is a land where mythology breathes side by side with economic growth, a land with rich mineral resources, dense forest cover and a landscape fringed with paddy, coconut and mango trees. The formidable terrain to be conquered and the short construction period meant that the project could only be completed with the help of several technological innovations.

Apart from setting a trend for other infrastructure projects in the country, the Konkan Railway provides concrete proof of the skills of Indian engineers, their discipline, team spirit and courage. But it is also a tribute to the unconquerable human spirit. Beyond the technical jargon, it was a leap of faith that made the long cherished dream of the people of the region possible.  The Konkan Railway has also in a way changed the lives of the Engineers and other people associated with the project. For them it was the glory of overcoming all odds, and the satisfaction and pride that they have built something for posterity. The completion of the Konkan Railway was a “tryst with destiny” for many people in the Konkan region, redeemed in the 50th year of the nation’s Independence. It is hence entirely fitting that the first train on the completed track was flagged off on January 26, 1998, Republic Day.

Streatch of indian railway

The first railway on Indian sub-continent ran over a stretch of 21 miles from Bombay to Thane on 16 April 1853. The idea of a railway to connect Bombay with Thane, Kalyan and with the Thai and Bhore Ghats inclines first occurred to George Clark, the Chief Engineer of the Bombay Government, during a visit to Bhandup in 1843. During the formal inauguration ceremony, 14 railway carriages carrying about 400 guests left Bori Bunder at 3.30 pm "amidst the loud applause of a vast multitude and to the salute of 21 guns".

The first passenger train steamed out of Howrah station destined for Hooghly, a distance of 24 miles, on 15 August 1854. Thus the first section of the East Indian Railway was opened to public traffic, inaugurating the beginning of railway transport on the Eastern side of the sub-continent. In South, the first line was opened on 1 July 1856 by the Madras Railway Company. It ran between Veyasarpandy and Walajah Road (Arcot), a distance of 63 miles. In the North, a length of 119 miles of line was laid from Allahabad to Kanpur on 3 March 1859.

The first section from Hathras Road to Mathura Cantonment was opened to traffic on 19 October 1875. These small beginnings in due course developed into a network of railway lines all over the country. By 1880, the Indian Railway system had a route mileage of about 9000 miles. When India became independent in 1947, there were forty-two rail systems. In 1951, the systems were nationalized as one unit, becoming one of the largest networks in the world. Thus Indian Railways (IR) was torn.

Toy Train Of Shimla

The best way to reach Shimla is to travel by Toy train from Kalka. The railway track is small in width between Kalka and Shimla and is known as meter gauge track opened by British Government in the year 1903. The distance of 96 KM between Shimla and Kalka passes through 102 tunnels and 87 bridges. There are more than 20 stations in this railway system which still uses the old Neals Token Instrument system for track interlocking. It connects Kalka at an height of 656 meter to Shimla at 2076 meter from mean sea level. There are around 900 curves and sharpest curve is of 48 degree. The five hour journey is one of the best train journeys for tourist operated by Indian railway.