NCR Safety Meeting: Frontline staff to be trained in disaster management

Allahabad: A safety meeting was held in the office of GM/NCR in the Vindhya Conference Hall on Saturday, 10th March 2018. Meeting chaired by GM/NCR M. C. Chauhan. Present in the meeting were all the PHODs/HODs of NCR and the DRMs of the three Divisions of NCR-Allahabad, Agra and Jhansi. The meeting began with GM/NCR advising that worksites near railway tracks should be assiduously protected in accordance with the prescribed norms after which a discussion on safety at Level Crossing gates, especially those which are not interlocked took place.

GM/NCR advised that efforts should be done to close/man the Unmanned Level Crossing Gates which were now remaining in NCR after the exercise that had been carried out to close/man them. GM also advised that lessons should be learnt from SPAD cases outside NCR in the railways and those should be utilized to make ‘Mission Zero SPAD’ even more effective. It is pertinent to mention here that ‘Mission Zero SPAD’, which was launched by present GM/NCR after he took charge in February 2017, has been an unqualified success with the number of SPAD cases decreasing by 700% since its launch.

It was decided in the meeting that on the job training would be given to newly inducted Assistant Station Masters (ASMs) in branch line-stations before they are posted at stations on the main line. CSO/NCR pointed out that there were some Level Crossing gates with very high TVU which had suffered repeated boom breakage in the past. GM/NCR advised that proposals for the elimination of such Level Crossings by means of ROB/LHS should be re-sent to the state government for sanction so that work on the same could begin.

It was also decided in the meeting that the process of identification of obstructions to signal visibility by means of signal sighting committees in all divisions would be expedited in view of the fair weather and good prevailing visibility both in day and night. It was also decided that the thrust on safety will continue and replacement of rails wherever required will be given priority. Cases of cutting of communication cables during construction works was another issue that came up for discussion.

GM/NCR advised that S&T staff of open line should be available wherever JCB/Excavators were working in locations having underground communications/S&T cables. It was also decided that stern punitive action would be taken in case of cable cutting by outsiders-especially in cases of miscreant activity. Training of frontline staff in Disaster Management was another important subject that was discussed in the meeting. It was decided that all frontline-staff would be given training in disaster management.

Ensuring adequate supply of ballast for tracks, reduction in cases of the hot axle, brake binding, train parting, Alarm Chain Pulling (ACP) and cattle run over were other subjects that came up for discussion. GM/NCR advised that unwarranted ACP was happening in specific sections/locations which should be identified for action against the same. GM also advised that punitive action against those found to be indulging in ‘zeharkhurani’ should be taken both under the railway act and the IPC.

NCR work review meeting: ‘Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh’ to be utilized fully

Allahabad: Works review meeting of North Central Railway (NCR) was held in NCR/HQ in Subedarganj, Allahabad,  on Saturday, 10th March 2018. Meeting chaired by GM/NCR M. C. Chauhan. Speaking on the occasion, GM/NCR said that proper expenditure in all plan heads should be ensured, especially in works relating to the provision of Minimum Essential Amenities (MEAs) at the stations.

He further said that necessary works at the 15 stations identified for development as ‘Adarsh Stations’ should be completed on priority. He also advised that Rashtriya Rail SanrakshaKosh (RRSK) funds should be completely utilized and there should be no surrender of funds in this head.

AGM/NCR said that while all efforts should be made to reduce expenditure under ‘revenue head’, full utilization of funds under ‘capital heads’ should also concurrently be ensured. GM/NCR further advised that preservation and improvement of the environment is our social responsibility. Accordingly, Works of Rain Water Harvesting, Water Recycling Plants, tree plantation, and prevention of wastage of water has to be given due attention.

“These are not costly propositions, it’s only that people need to be sensitized about the importance of conserving water” he added.

Reviewing the progress of provision of escalators and lifts at stations, GM/NCR said that there was a pressing need to expedite the same. GM said that we have a moral responsibility to provide necessary facilities to our differently abled brethren- ‘divyangjan’. He appreciated that out of 153, 114 stations had already been provided with the prescribed ‘short-term facilities’.

He advised that in order to complete the provision of short-term facilities in the remaining 39 stations, should be completed by the end of March 18. It was decided that DRMs would take proactive action and would approach concerned MPs within their jurisdictional area for provisions of stainless steel benches at their stations under MPLAD scheme.

The progress of doubling works (Tundla-Yamuna Bridge, Aligarh-Ghaziabad 3rd line, Jhansi-Bina 3rd line etc) was also reviewed. GM advised that all efforts should be made to complete these works as per schedule as the same, once completed, would result in enhancement of capacity in these saturated sections leading to increased throughput and enhanced punctuality, besides positively impacting safety in train operations.

Other important issues that came up for discussion were Development of circulating area for Allahabad station for Kumbh Mela, Construction of Road Over Bridges, the progress of road safety works, the progress of S&T and Electrical works, the progress of passenger amenities works and progress of construction of staff quarters.

Extension up to Gwalior and Jhansi leads to a quantum jump in the occupancy of Gatiman Exp.

Allahabad: Gatiman Express, which is the fastest train on the system of Indian Railways and the first semi-high-speed train of the country, was initially introduced between Hazrat Nizamuddin and Agra Cantt stations of Northern Railway and North Central Railway respectively. In a bid to boost tourism, especially in the Bundelkhand area of Uttar Pradesh, GM/NCR Shri M.C Chauhan took a proactive step and proposed the extension of Gatiman Express from Agra Cantt Station to Jhansi with an en-route stop at Gwalior.

The rake of Gatiman Express had a lie-over time of 8 hours at Agra Cantt Station. It was the availability of this lie-over of 8 hrs at Agra that which was at the foundation of the proposal of extension of Gatiman Express up to Jhansi.  From the point of view of the public, the thought was that the extension of the train upto Jhansi with one stoppage at Gwalior, could become a boon to tourists and the tourism industry in Bundelkhand region as, with this extension, the tourists coming on this route would have the additional benefit of vising tourist places in Bundelkhand area near Jhansi such Jhansi Fort, Rani Mahal,  Barua Sagar, St. Jude Shrine, Orchha fort (which houses many palaces like Jahangir Mahal, Raja Mahal, and the Ram Raja temple), Pitambara Peeth at Datia and Jain Temple at Sonagir.

Those choosing to stop over at Gwalior would have the opportunity to visit the Gwalior Fort, Sun Temple, Jai Vilas Palace, Gujari Mahal, Tansen Tomb, and Man Singh Palace at Gwalior. Not surprisingly, the proposal, with so many potential benefits was approved by the Railway Board, and Gatiman Express was extended up to Gwalior on 19th February 2018 with its extension up to Jhansi scheduled with effect from 1st April 2018.

The success of the extension was underscored by the fact that on the very first day of its run from Gwalior, the occupancy of the train shot up to 100% from approximately 75.91% pre-extension. After nearly one month of its extension, a reality check shows that the occupancy of Gatiman Express in the past one month has been 97.63%, which is nearly 28.61% above its occupancy pre-extension.

What is even more heartening is that this increase in occupancy of Gatiman has been achieved without affecting the occupancy of Habibganj-New Delhi Shatabdi Express (12001/12002), which is evident from the fact that the occupancy of Habibganj-New Delhi Shatabdi has increased by 10% in the last one month as compared to previous year. Speaking on the subject, GM/NCR said that the increase in occupancy of Gatiman Express post-extension shows that this move has been welcomed by the public at large including tourists.