A two-day loco speed trial will be conducted on the Baruasagar-Teharka section of the Jhansi-Manikpur railway track starting Monday. Following this, the Chief Electrical Engineer of North Central Railway, Prayagraj, and the Commissioner of Railway Safety, North Eastern Circle, Lucknow, will inspect the section. Preparations have been completed by the Jhansi... division of North Central Railway. According to the Public Relations Officer of Jhansi Railway Division, Manoj Kumar Singh, the loco speed trial for the electrification of the second line of the Baruasagar-Teharka section will take place on June 9th and 10th. On June 11th, the Chief Electrical Engineer from Prayagraj will conduct a speed test and inspect the electrification of the section. On June 13th, the Commissioner of Railway Safety, North Eastern Circle, Lucknow, will inspect the section and speed testing. After the testing, the electrification of the second line of the railway track will commence. The authorities appeal to all citizens to stay away from electrical wires and poles, avoid sitting near the railway line, and refrain from unauthorized track crossing. They also urge people to keep their livestock away from the railway tracks. The electrification of the second line will facilitate smoother train operations, improving the movement of trains passing through Mahoba railway station.Read More...

The Railway Board has announced financial assistance for its employees for critical illnesses. The board will cover the expenses for lung and heart transplants. For lung transplants, the board will cover ₹25 lakh, ₹15 lakh for heart transplants, and ₹35 lakh for both. Employees must meet certain conditions to avail of... this assistance. This facility was already available, but the board has increased the amount due to changes in medical infrastructure and rising treatment costs. A standing committee will be formed in each zone, comprising senior medical professionals to review cases. The expenditure will be sanctioned by the zonal railway, eliminating the need for Railway Board approval. This will enable faster access to treatment for employees. Previously, employees had to wait for approval from the Railway Board after recommendations from the division and zone, causing delays. The Railway provides financial aid for other serious illnesses like liver transplants. Railway employees also receive free treatment at empanelled hospitals through the Ummeed Card.Read More...

During the 19th triennial general meeting of the All India Loco Running Employees Association, organized at Banamunda, Chakradharpur railway division, the new executive committees of the Banamunda and Rourkela branches were announced. The Banamunda committee includes Rajshekhar as President, Vijay Yadav and Vijay Ram as Vice-Presidents, N.N. Mardi as Secretary, R.... Nagwar as Executive President, Niranjan Kumar, Lokeshwari Kumari, and P.C. Kumar as Joint Secretaries, Avinash Kumar Gupta, R. Swain, Somnath Ghosh and S.K. Hembram as Co-Secretaries, R.K. Luha, R.K. Chaubey, Neha Kumari and Gautam Kumar as Organizing Secretaries, Prashant Kumar as Treasurer, I. Mandal and R.K. Singh as Co-Treasurers, and were assigned to the Auditor post. Similarly, the Rourkela committee includes Sanjay Kumar Nayak as President, D.S. Jena, D.L. Sarkar and Shilarani Horo as Vice-Presidents, Pankaj Kumar and A.K. Padhi as Executive Presidents, P.C. Pashayat as Secretary, R.K. Ravi, Pramod Kumar, Rajneesh, Dhiraj Mahto, B.K. Lakra, and L.K. Chauhan as Co-Secretaries, A.R. Patra, B.D. Panigrahi, Mahendra Kumar Sinha, Ravi Kumar Rao, and Anand Kumar as Joint Secretaries, Sushant Jena, A.K. Trivedi, S.P. Verma, Nandlal Mahto, V.K. Sudhanshu, Sonu Gupta, Ranjan Kumar and Jai Prakash as Organizing Secretaries, S.C. Behera as Treasurer, D.K. Mandal, Anand Chauhan and S.K. Bhagat as Co-Treasurers, and were assigned to the Auditor post.Read More...

The Railway Board has announced financial assistance for its employees facing critical illnesses. The board will cover the expenses for lung and heart transplants. Employees undergoing treatment at advanced railway hospitals will receive ₹25 lakh for lung transplants, ₹15 lakh for heart transplants, and ₹35 lakh for both. This enhancement considers... changes in medical infrastructure and rising treatment costs. Each zone will have a standing committee to oversee these cases. The South Eastern Railway zone employees can now get financial aid for heart and lung transplants directly from Gardenreach. This decision, made four days ago following a demand from the National Federation of Indian Railway, aims to expedite treatment and reduce delays. Previously, approvals from the Railway Board were required, causing delays. The railway also provides financial aid for other serious illnesses, including liver transplants, and offers free treatment at contracted hospitals via the Ummeed Card.Read More...

Passengers traveling by Indian Railways will now experience an enhanced seat upgrade facility. After the chart preparation, sleeper class tickets can be upgraded directly to Second AC if seats are available, expanding upon the previous limit of upgrades only up to Third AC. This upgrade applies to Chair Car... tickets too. Sanjay Manocha, the Director (Passenger Marketing) of the Railway Board, communicated the new rule to all zonal railways on May 13th, with instructions for necessary software changes to CRIS. This also enables upgrade from Second Seating to AC Chair Car, and from AC Chair Car to Executive Class. Passengers will travel in a higher class without extra charges, improving seat utilization and passenger convenience. The auto-upgrade facility has been in place since 2006, offering automatic upgrades from Sleeper to Third AC when seats are available after chart preparation, provided the 'Auto Upgrade' option was selected during booking on the IRCTC website. No extra fee is charged for this upgrade. Refund policies will be based on the original ticket class fare, if a cancellation is requested post-upgrade. This feature aims to provide passengers with a better travel experience at a lower cost.Read More...

The Indian Railways, at the initiative of Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister A.K. Sharma, is extending the Marudhar Express, which currently runs from Varanasi City to Jodhpur, to originate from Mau Junction. This makes it easier for people traveling from Mau to Jodhpur. This will be the fourth train to start from... Mau Junction for other states. The Railway Ministry had proposed the extension, and the proposal reached the North Eastern Railway office in Gorakhpur. A.K. Sharma assured that the demands of the people of Mau would be considered. A week later, the new list released by the Railway Ministry approved the operation of the Marudhar Express from Mau. Additionally, there's a demand to operate the Begampura Express via Mau, discussed by Shri Ram Jaiswal with Minister Sharma, which would connect Mau to Jammu (if the train runs from Ballia instead of Varanasi). Proposals to increase the frequency of weekly trains from Mau Junction to Anand Vihar and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus have also been made. This decision will benefit devotees of Salasar Balaji and passengers travelling to Jaipur and Jodhpur. The demand for train operations to distant metropolitan cities has been increasing since the construction of washing pits and a washing terminal at Mau Junction railway station. Shri Ram Jaiswal, a member of the Regional Rail Passenger Advisory Committee, had previously requested the operation of the Begampura Express, Kamayani Express, and Marudhar Express from Mau Junction in a meeting of the North Eastern Railway. Minister Sharma gave a positive assurance regarding the operation of these trains from Mau.Read More...

The Jharkhand Rajya Nirman Andolankari Morcha held a press conference on Sunday at the Phuldungri bus stand. Addressing the conference, the President of the Andolankari Morcha, Ramdas Hansda, and Secretary Kanchan Kar jointly stated that nine years prior, on June 16, 2016, a memorandum was submitted to the DRM of Kharagpur,... highlighting the major issues faced in Ghatshila and requesting solutions. Specifically, they demanded the construction of a foot over bridge near the closed railway crossing in Gopalpur to facilitate safe crossing of the railway tracks for the people. This would prevent them from having to walk long distances and use the overbridge to cross the tracks, which was causing them difficulty. Previously, many pedestrians used to cross the tracks unsafely. Now, with the tracks fenced with iron nets, people face considerable difficulty in crossing the tracks via the overbridge. Considering the people's difficulties, the construction of a foot over bridge in Gopalpur is crucial in the public interest. The Morcha also demanded the construction of a road along the north side of the track from Gopalpur Shiv Mandir to Kashida, and the establishment of a railway ticket counter on the northern side of the track for the convenience of passengers from Phuldungri, Pawda, and Kashida. JD Das and Chhotu Rai were also present at the event. The Morcha urged the railway management to take immediate action to address the related issues.Read More...

Construction of the Kapurpura Rail Overbridge (ROB) on the Hajipur-Muzaffarpur NH-77 bypass has commenced with the laying of iron rods from Sunday. The construction company, Patna Highway Projects Limited, completed the shuttering work on Friday. According to the chief project manager, Deepak Tiwari, work is being accelerated with the allocation of... railway blocks. Reinforcement (rod binding) work has already been completed by a quarter in just ten days. The target is to complete this by June 15th. Road laying will commence two or three days later, with the aim to complete it before June 20th. The ROB is expected to be completed by July 15th, with the road opening for traffic in the first week of August. Work is ongoing in both day and night shifts. Upon completion, the ROB will alleviate traffic congestion, particularly for those traveling to Patna from North Bihar, by eliminating traffic jams from Chandni Chowk to Madhaul and reducing travel time by at least one hour.Read More...

The Muzaffarpur-Suguali railway line doubling project is nearing completion, with only 500 meters of track laying remaining. As part of this project, 11 foot overbridges (FOBs) were to be constructed at a cost of 23.17 crore rupees to ensure safe passenger movement at stations. Despite the project starting five years ago,... only 25% of the FOB construction has been completed. Construction of one FOB each is planned at Kaparpuara, Kanti, Pipraha, Motipur, Mahwal, Mehsi, Chakia, Pipra, Jivdhara, Bapudham Motihari, and Semra stations. A West Bengal-based agency was assigned the construction in 2020, with a four-month deadline, but the deadline of January 30, 2025, has passed. The construction work is currently halted. The CPRO stated that the General Manager is continuously reviewing the projects. The FOBs are being built to ease passenger movement due to increased distances between platforms after the line doubling. Only earthwork has been completed for the FOBs, and it will take more than six months to complete the construction. The agency was granted several extensions, but the project is still unfinished.Read More...

The improvements at Manak Nagar station will take time. A new building is being constructed under the Amrit Station scheme. The new station will include a waiting hall, restrooms, ticket windows, inquiry center, and a cafeteria. Parking will be available near the new building. The construction of the two-story building has... been ongoing for about a year, with completion targeted for December of this year. The waiting hall and adjacent rooms have had their roofs cast. Wiring is in progress in the waiting hall and restrooms. Amenities for passengers will increase, including restrooms, clean drinking water, and a cafeteria. Currently, parking is a problem at the station; however, the new building will have ample parking space, solving this issue.Read More...