For RailFans, Platform Announcements are more musical than Bollywood songs. - Prince Maan

Patna: Hundreds of migrant workers, who had arrived at Katihar railway station in Bihar from Kerala by a Shramik Special train on Thursday, were lathi-charged by the police. The workers were protesting against lack of arrangement of buses by the government to ferry them to their home districts. More than half a dozen migrant workers sustained injuries after the police resorted to violence.
This incident occurred three days after the Bihar government shut down its registration process for quarantining migrants workers, who had returned from outside the state, for 14 days. The government also put an end to the facility of transporting migrant workers to their home districts.
The...
more...

arrival of hundreds of migrant workers on June 4 has raised eyebrows over the government’s decision to not quarantine the workers and to close down all quarantine centres at block level by June 15. The government has decided not to register migrant workers who arrive in the state after June 1.
Officials from the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority said the registration process for quarantining migrants had been closed on Monday, June 1.
“If migrant workers are not quarantined, it is bound to result in a spurt of COVID-19 cases as government health officials have repeatedly attributed the rising number of cases in Bihar to the returning migrant workers over the last month. It is simple, if migrant workers mix with villagers without being kept in quarantine, it will result in spreading the infection,” a senior health official told NewsClick.
Mahendar Yadav, an activist from Bihar, said the government's decision is contrary to its earlier stand. Since early May, state government officials had been publicly expressing fear that the influx of migrant workers would spread the novel coronavirus and decided to set up government-run quarantine centres to keep them in quarantine.
The latest batch of migrant workers from Kerala, who have returned to Bihar, are not alone. Thousands of migrant workers continue to arrive at different railway stations across Bihar on Thursday.
According to government officials in Katihar, the migrant workers were angry after being informed that buses to take them to their home districts of Jehanabad and Saran had not been arranged for. The workers first created a ruckus and followed it up with a protest against the government within the premises of the railway station. The agitation then hit the nearby road.
Irked by their protest, dozens of police men on duty resorted to lathi charge.
“Migrant workers had blocked the Katihar-Purnia road near the railway station for over an hour. They had barricaded it with old bamboo to protest against the absence of buses to ferry them home. They also shouted slogans against the government but the police acted against them to disperse them,” said a district official who wished to stay anonymous.
Migrant workers said they demanded buses as they do not have enough money to arrange for transportation. “We reached Katihar after travelling in a train without food and water for over two days from Kerala. Much to our shock we came to know that there was no arrangement for buses made by the government. This has been done to harass us,” said Nagendar Rai, one of migrant workers, who hails from Saran.
Rai added that the bus drivers were demanding between Rs 500 to 1000 per person to take them home. “I have not eaten anything since Wednesday morning as I have no money left in my pocket to buy food. How can I arrange money for bus fare?” he asked.
Mukesh Kumar, another migrant worker, questioned the Railways decision to drop passengers off at Katihar instead of at their home districts. “This train should have dropped us off at Jehanabad railway station and Chapra railway station. Why did the train drop us off at Katihar, which is far away from our home? How we will reach our villages without any official arrangements? Most of us have no money to eat; how we will pay for a vehicle?” he asked.
However, after district officials assured the workers of buses to ferry them, they ended their protest.
According to top officials of the state government, more than 30 lakh migrant workers had returned to Bihar from other states over the last month due to the lockdown imposed to contain COVID-19. The first batch of stranded migrant workers arrived in Bihar on May 2.
As of Thursday, Bihar had 4,390 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 25 deaths reported. So far, the state has tested more than 85,000 samples in seven COVID-19 testing facilities in the state. Bihar Health Secretary Lokesh Kumar Singh said that 73% of the total COVID-19 cases had been attributed to migrant workers.
Singh said 3,079 migrant workers had tested positive for COVID-19 so far. He mentioned that 166 migrant workers had shown symptoms of the disease, a number which was revealed during a household survey of 4.08 lakh houses to screen migrant workers.
Information and Public Relations Department Secretary, Anupam Kumar, said that as of June 3, a total of 4,29,174 migrant workers were staying at 11,167 quarantine centres at the block level. He mentioned that 10,37,882 migrant workers had been discharged and had returned home after completing their mandatory quarantine period.

नई दिल्ली: दिल्ली पुलिस (Delhi Police) स्पेशल सेल ने रविवार को पाकिस्तान हाई कमिशन (Pakistan High Commission) के दो वीसा अधिकारियों (आबिद और ताहिर) और उनके ड्राइवर को जासूसी के आरोप में पकड़ा था. दोनों पाकिस्तान की खुफिया एजेंसी ISI के अधिकारी थे और भारत में वीसा अधिकारी बनकर आए थे. आरोपियों को 24 घंटे के भीतर भारत छोड़ने के आदेश दिए गए. 
इस मामले में दिल्ली पुलिस की स्पेशल सेल ने गुरुवार को रेलवे के 2 कर्मचारियों से पूछताछ की. दोनों को पूछताछ के बाद छोड़ दिया गया. बता दें कि रविवार को करोल बाग से पकड़े गए ISI एजेंट आबिद और ताहिर लगातर रेलवे के इन 2 कर्मचारियों को इंफॉर्मेशन निकालने के लिए ट्रैप कर रहे थे.
ये...
more...

भी पढ़ें- पाक हाई कमीशन के 3 लोग जासूसी के आरोप में पकड़े गए, 24 घंटे में भारत छोड़ने के आदेश
रेलवे के इन 2 कर्मचारियों से स्पेशल सेल ने पूछताछ की है. रेलवे कर्मचारियों ने पूछताछ में बताया कि आबिद और ताहिर बड़ौदा हाउस के बाहर मिले थे. सरकारी नौकरी कैसे मिलेगी इस बारे में पूछा था. 
दोनों ISI एजेंटों ने रेलवे कर्मचारियों से पूछा था कि आर्मी के लोग कौन सी बोगी से जाते हैं और कैसे जाते हैं. दोनों ने आर्मी कर्मचारियों के ट्रेन की मूवमेंट के बारे में जानकारी लेने की कोशिश की थी. 
रेलवे कर्मचारियों ने पुलिस को बताया कि उन्हें दोनों की बातों पर शक हुआ तो ISI एजेंट आबिद ने बताया की उसका भाई किताब लिख रहा है इसलिए उसे जानकारी चाहिए. हालांकि रेलवे कर्मचारियों को दोनों संदिग्ध लगे इसलिए कोई इन्फॉर्मेशन नहीं दी.

NEW DELHI: Indian Railways has planned to monetise 3.8 acre land parcel near the Puducherry Railway Station, in an attempt to generate revenue. The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), will conduct an online pre-bid meeting for the redevelopment of Puducherry Railway Station.The station will be redeveloped with amenities such as provisions for differently-abled, harmonious co-existence of the railway station and real estate projects, green building among others on the Design, Build, Finance, Operate Transfer (DBFOT) model. The cost of the project is estimated at R 44 crore. The tender is scheduled to be awarded by the end of August 2020.“Puducherry is a renowned tourist destination. Located on Subbaiah Salai (South Boulevard Road), the proposed site is situated in a dense residential and commercial hub. It enjoys proximity to the Puducherry Airport as well as French White Town, which is the major tourist zone of Puducherry,” said Ved Parkash Dudeja, Vice- Chairman,...
more...

Railway Land Development Authority.The selected bidder will be required to undertake the up-gradation and redevelopment of the Puducherry Railway Station, including the commercial development of the surrounding railway land followed by its operation and maintenance. The size of the proposed land parcels are 2 acres (Station Component) and 3.8 acres (Commercial Component). The concession period for the project under the concession agreement is 60 years which implies that concessionaire must operate and maintain the Railway station buildings and estate for 60 years. The two online pre-bid meetings will be conducted through video conferencing on June 10th and 17th.RLDA is the nodal agency for the redevelopment of railway stations across the Indian Railway network and the major Project Development Agency. A total of 62 Railway Stations across India will be re-developed by RLDA on a PPP Model as a part of Smart City Projects launched by the Government of India. The entire cost of re-development will be met by leveraging commercial development of spare railway land/airspace in and around the station.

CHENNAI: Residents of Chengalpattu, Arakkonam and Walajah will soon get train services to travel to other parts of Tamil Nadu during the lockdown. The measures are being taken with the objective of restoring normalcy outside Chennai in order to boost economic activity. 
The government announced relaxations in the lockdown since June 1st and allowed the operation of private companies at full strength, except in Chennai and its suburbs.
Four special trains for intra-state transportation are being operated from June 1 in Coimbatore - Mayiladuthurai, Coimbatore - Katpadi, Villupuram - Madurai and Tiruchy - Nagercoil routes in both directions.
In...
more...

addition to this, the government has requested the railways to operate three more trains in  -  Chengalpattu - Tiruchy via chord line, Chengalpattu - Tiruchy via mainline and Arakkonam - Coimbatore sections. Acting on this, Southern Railway sent a proposal to the railway board for introducing trains.
"As the government allowed operation of private companies with full strength outside Chennai city, transportation demand has gone up hugely in the last few days. Now, trains are allowed till Arakkonam instead of Katpadi. Similarly, trains are to be permitted till Chengalpattu instead of Villupuram," said a senior government official.
Officials said the introduction of the new trains will be notified soon and the quarantine procedure for inter-zone travellers will remain unchanged for these trains.
While Pallavan Express has been proposed to be operated as a special train between Karaikudi and Chengalpattu, Kovai Express will run between Arakkonam and Coimbatore. The Cholan Express will run between Tiruchy and Chengalpattu via Thanjavur and Mayiladuthurai.

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has launched open web steel girders over Barak river as a part of the Jiribam-Imphal railway line. The latest development is a significant milestone which will connect Imphal with the rest of India. 
In the year 2008, a National Project under Indian Railways network was announced. The Jiribam-Imphal railway line will connect Imphal (capital of Manipur) to the rest of India. As per NFR, the 111-km-long Jiribam-Imphal line is projected to be completed by March 2022. A budget of Rs. 13,809 crore was announced by the Central Government. 
The...
more...

Jiribam-Imphal railway line is India’s tallest pier rail bridge in Tamenglong district over Barak river. The height of the bridge number 164 of the national railway project will be 141 metres-- twice the height of Qutub Minar. The Jiribam-Imphal railway line will build 149 bridges and 52 tunnels due to the hilly terrain and rivers.
Bridge 164
Bridge 164 is the tallest girder rail bridge and will be built over river Ijai, near Noney town, Manipur. The trains can pass over this bridge at a speed of 120 kmph. 
Difficulties in the project:
Due to the hilly terrain, rivers and forest, the transportation of the construction material, machines, etc. to the construction site is a tedious task. Thus, custom made trucks were used for transportation purposes. Apart from this, many military organizations are active in this region. Therefore, a battalion of the Territorial Army-119 unit was deployed to ensure safety and security to the workers. 
The National Rail Transporter will build nearly 10 railway stations for its smooth functioning. Also, three IITs (Indian Institue of Technology) are involved for the technical assistance and designs in the national project-- IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee and IIT Guwahati. 
After the completion of this national project, the government of India is planning to build a railway line from Imphal to Moreh in the first stage and then from Moreh to Tamukalay in the second stage to ensure easy transportation of goods and services.