Indian Economy-News & Updates

[ashok321]

• Singapore proposal to check food export limits worries India

 

[Local_Legend]

Khojak tunnel, in Balochistan (British India)

The 3.9 km Khojak Tunnel in the Killa Abdullah district of Balochistan was built by the British in 1891. Situated 1,945 meters above sea level, it was the longest tunnel in Pakistan before the Lowari Tunnel was built, and was featured on the Rs 5 bank note.

Constructed in three years, the railway passage, also known as Sheilla Bagh Tunnel, is so straight that light reflected from a mirror on one side reaches the other.

According to a legend, the chief engineer of the tunnel committed suicide after its two ends did not meet on the day he had set for himself as a deadline. The reason, discovered later, was that the laborers did not work for one whole day and falsely reported that they did.

As a tribute to this historical and architectural marvel and an important landmark, the photograph of the entrance of the tunnel, from Sheela Bagh end appears on the backside of old Five Rupees currency note of Pakistan (now replaced with a coin).

Khojak Pass is located in the Suleiman mountain range. To be exact, the tunnel is located across the Khawaja Amran offshoot of the Toba- Kakar mountains in the Quetta- Pishin district. The pass is some 70 miles from Quetta by rail, and it is here that famous Khojak Tunnel starts, the longest tunnel in the Indian subcontinent, and the fourth longest in the world when it was constructed in 1891. The crest is reached at Sheela-bagh railway station, which is at a height of 6,396 feet above sea level. Sheela Bagh was developed as the base camp for workers building the road and rail track through the pass. According to the local legend, the British officer in charge of the tunnel project fell in love with a dancer girl Sheela. So the sahib, on a tough assignment in a god forsaken place used to recall her beloved thus giving the same name to the place. Since then the place is being called as Sheela Bagh.

Beyond Sheela Bagh, the road rises to the top of pass and the rail track enters into the tunnel to emerge on the other side after covering a distance of 3.9 kilometres and leads towards the last railway station of Chaman. It is said that when the tunnel was being built, the work started from both ends and apparently when the engineer discovered that it was not meeting in the centre he attempted suicide. However, by means of a hill and a corner the situation was redeemed and the tunnel completed in 1892. The tunnel is straight but has a few rising and falling grades, the highest being reached at the centre, which is almost a hump. As the train reaches this spot, an automatic device rings a bell warning the engine driver that he is starting the downgrade. To light the tunnel for the gang men who regularly work there or the occasional inspections and visits, mirrors are used at both ends, which reflect sunlight into it. The employees deployed for this purpose so position the life – side mirrors that the entire passage of the straight tunnel is illuminated, which slide out of their slits when they are operated through the special mechanism devised to this end “.

The strategic location of the tunnel amid rugged landscape and possession of one of the longest tunnel used for railway track, makes it equally interesting rather more dramatic with wild panoramic views around, as compared to Khyber Pass. The construction of this road and rail track is without any doubt is a marvel of engineering if seen in the time period it was built, with sheer human muscles and manual labour. Hats off for the people who took this daring assignment and completed it for the development of the area and to provide an easy and a safe travelling route for the local people. It is also a lesson for us living in modern times to learn from the determination of those who thought and constructed this tunnel amid most hostile environment and inhospitable terrain. The tunnel and the road terminate at Chaman, the border town of Pakistan, opposite the Afghan Spin Boldak while Kandhar is situated at a distance of 125 kilometres away.

http://pakistanpaedia.com/landmarks/khojak/khojak_railway_tunnel.htm

 

[Local_Legend]

 

[Abingdonboy]

 

[Abingdonboy]

@anant_s

I know I have asked this before, but I still find it weird how the Western DFC is to be operational by 2019/2020 but the freight trains for it have still not been ordered when the Eastern DFC's have (from Alstom).
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+ @anant_s bro any chance you could post some pics/info on the support trains/equipment used by the IR like the automated track laying machines, ballast systems etc (I'm sure there are many that I simply don't know exist).

 

[anant_s]

A typo from your side

oops... my bad. Corrected!

I still find it weird how the Western DFC is to be operational by 2019/2020 but the freight trains for it have still not been ordered when the Eastern DFC's have (from Alstom).

Island commissioning of DFC sectors will be taken up on both sides, for example Sonagar Mughalsarai section gets commissioned this year. Test runs have already been done.
Initially (til the time reasonably long end to end connected sections are commissioned), IR will be running normal WAG 7 and WAG 9 powered trains on these sections.
General understanding is that, by the time last section on both DFC gets commissioned in 2020-21, Hitachi, Alstom and GE locomotives would've started arriving.
You would also recall, that for all three contracts, first few pieces will be brought in assembled condition, so their operation will begin by schedule (even if there are delays in Indian factory establishment).
One more info, Hitachi loco for WDFC is slated to be manufactured at Dankuni (WB). This facility is in advance stages of establishment and therefore for 200 Japanese locos, there should not be much of problem, once they sort of pricing issue and sign a contract.
As per my information Alstom too is gearing up for execution of contract. Hope Bihar government now assists both the loco projects in state to come up on time. Budgetary provisions have already been made in this years railway budget.

Lovely view of three gateways to tunnels on the Kasara Ghats near Igatpuri!

The picture is taken from Mumbai Agra Highway, just after Kasara station. Amazing location!

Its claimed that upto 4 MUed WAM4s have been used in past , any pic or video for them ?

the most i've seen is 3 (all alive). Scenes like 3 WAG 5 or WAG 7 is till quite common on Kirandul line.

But i do remember, some 15-16 years back, on day of railway budget, DD used to show a stock footage, where 4 WAG 5 all powered was present.
Now with advent of 3 phasers, not more than 2 locos are present on any train, with exception of a Python rake where a loco (or pair) may be present in between.

automated track laying machines, ballast systems

Sunday, i'll post a writeup

 

[anant_s]

 

[Ankit Kumar 002]

View attachment 323511

Means atleast 5 WDG5 built ?

And are all at Sabarmati?

Bheems along with Gir Lions.

 

[Grevion]

https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&s...9wdlHUteK_YjNgyYA&sig2=A2obF8YkmLMomq5ppUBuKg
Above is the link to PDF version of the highlights of the Union Rail Budget 2016-2017.
Here are a few extracts -

Financial Performance
 2015-16- Savings of Rs. 8,720 crore neutralizing most of the revenue shortfall,
expected OR 90%;
 2016-17- Targeted Operating Ratio (OR) - 92%, restrict growth of Ordinary Working
Expenses by 11.6% after building in immediate impact of 7th PC, reductions planned in diesel and electricity consumption, Revenue generation targeted at Rs. 1,84,820 crore.

Investments and Resources
 Process bottlenecks overhauled including delegation of powers to functional levels;
average capital expenditure over 2009-14 is Rs. 48,100 crore, average growth of 8%
per annum.
 2015-16 investment would be close to double of the average of previous 5 years.
 2016-17 CAPEX pegged at Rs. 1.21 lakh crore; implementation through joint ventures with states, developing new frameworks for PPP, etc.

Vision
 By 2020, long-felt desires of the common man to be fulfilled i.e, reserved
accommodation on trains available on demand, time tabled freight trains, high end
technology to improve safety record, elimination of all unmanned level crossings,
improved punctuality, higher average speed of freight trains, semi high speed trains
running along the golden quadrilateral, zero direct discharge of human waste.

2015-16-Achievements
 Action initiated on 139 budget announcements of 2015-16

Project execution
 2015-16 - assured funding through LIC; commissioning of 2,500 kms Broad Gauge
lines; commissioning of 1,600 kms of electrification, highest ever. In 2016-17 -
targeted commissioning 2,800 kms of track; commissioning Broad Gauge lines @
over 7 kms per day against an average of about 4.3 kms per day in the last 6 years.
Would increase to about 13 kms per day in 2017-18 and 19 kms per day in 2018-19;
will generate employment of about 9 crore man days in 2017-18 and 14 crore man
days in 2018-19. Outlay for railway electrification increased in 2016-17 by almost 50%; target to electrify 2,000 kms.

Dedicated Freight Corridor
 Almost all contracts for civil engineering works to be awarded by March 31st 2016;
Rs. 24,000 crore contracts awarded since November 2014 as against Rs. 13,000 crore
contracts awarded in last 6 years; propose to take up North-South, East-West & East
Coast freight corridors through innovative financing including PPP.

North East
 BG Lumding-Silchar section in Assam opened thus connecting Barak Valley with rest of the country; Agartala brought on to the BG network. States of Mizoram and
Manipur shortly to come on BG map of the country with commissioning of the
Kathakal-Bhairabi and Arunachal-Jiribam Gauge Conversion projects.

Make in India
Finalised bids for two loco factories; proposed to increase the current procurement of train sets by 30%.

Other major achievements
 Energy: annualized savings of Rs. 3,000 crore to be achieved in the next financial
year itself, a year earlier than announced; achieved by procuring power directly at
competitive rates using IR’s status as Deemed Distribution Licensee.
 Rail University – initially identified the National Academy of Indian Railways at
Vadodara.

The Way Ahead
Improving quality of travel

For the unreserved passenger –
 Antyodaya Express unreserved, superfast service.
 Deen Dayalu coaches – unreserved coaches with potable water and higher number of mobile charging points.

For the reserved passenger –
 Humsafar - fully air-conditioned third AC service with an optional service for meals
 Tejas - will showcase the future of train travel in India. Will operate at speeds of 130
kmph and above.Will offer onboard services such as entertainment, local cuisine, Wi-
Fi, etc. through one service provider for ensuring accountability and improved
customer satisfaction
 Humsafar and Tejas to ensure cost recovery through tariff and non-tariff measures
 UDAY - overnight double-decker, Utkrisht Double-Decker Air-conditioned Yatri
Express on the busiest routes, has the potential to increase carrying capacity by almost 40%.

Travel Insurance to passengers
to offer optional travel insurance for rail journeys at the time of booking.

Hourly booking of retiring rooms
will be handed over to IRCTC.

Janani sewa
children’s menu items on trains, baby foods, hot milk and hot water would be made available.


Improving customer interface
skilling our front-end staff and those we employ through our service providers, information boards in trains enumerating the on-board services and also GPS based digital displays inside coaches to provide real time information regarding upcoming halts. Work underway on installation of a high-tech centralized network of 20,000 screens across 2000 stations for enabling real time flow of information to passengers and also unlock huge advertising potential. All A1 class stations will be manned with duly empowered Station Directors supported by cross functional teams; to make one person
accountable for all facilities on trains.

High Speed Rail
passenger corridor from Ahmedabad to Mumbai being undertaken with the assistance of the Government of Japan. SPV for implementing high speed projects will be registered this month. Prime benefit would be providing IR with technology advancements and new manufacturing capability.

Winning back the lost modal share
Expanding the freight basket of IR - to start time-tabled freight container, parcel and
special commodity trains on a pilot basis, container sector would be opened to all trafficbarring coal, specified mineral ores and part-loads during the non-peak season. All existing terminals/sheds would be granted access to container traffic, where considered feasible.

Rationalising the tariff structure – undertake review of tariff policy to evolve a competitive
rate structure vis a vis other modes, permit multi-point loading/unloading and apply
differentiated tariffs to increase utilization of alternate routes, explore possibility of signing
long term tariff contracts with our key freight customers using pre-determined price
escalation principles.

Building terminal capacity - proposed to develop Rail side logistics parks and warehousing in PPP mode, 10 goods sheds will be developed by TRANSLOC, the Transport Logistics Company of India, in 2016-17. To soon inaugurate India’s first rail auto hub in Chennai. Encourage development of cold storage facilities on vacant land near freight terminals. Local farmers and fisherman would be given preferential usage of the facility. A policy in this regard would be issued in the next 3 months.

Sashaktikaran
Improving our planning practices
To set up a Railway Planning & Investment Organisation for drafting medium (5
years) and long (10 years) term corporate plans; identify projects which fulfill the
corporate goal. Prepare a National Rail Plan to harmonise and integrate the rail network with other modes of transport and create synergy for achieving seamless multi-modal transportation network across the country

Shodh aur vikas
Investing in the future: to set up a R&D organization, a Special Railway Establishment for Strategic Technology & Holistic Advancement, SRESTHA. RDSO will now focus only on day to day issues while SRESTHA would drive long term research.

Budget Estimates 2016-17

 The intention to improve revenues and ensure appropriate investments which can
continue the road-map of decongestion and enhance line-capacity enhancement as
detailed in 2015-16. The focus is on enhanced CAPEX with a mix of various sources of funding in order to ensure that the projects are given assured funding.

 Gross Traffic Receipts kept at Rs 1,84,820 crore . Passenger earnings growth has been
pegged at 12.4 % and earnings target budgeted at Rs. 51,012 crore. The freight traffic is pegged at incremental traffic of 50 million tonnes, anticipating a healthier growth in the core sector of economy. Goods earnings is accordingly proposed at Rs. 1, 17,933 crore. Other coaching and sundries projected at Rs. 6,185 crore and Rs. 9,590.3 crore respectively.

 OWE provides for the implementation of the 7th CPC.

 Pension outgo budgeted at Rs 45,500 crore in 2016-17.

 Railways are preparing a Plan size of Rs. 1,21,000 crore in 2016-17.
@anant_s sir your thoughts.

 

[anant_s]

Means atleast 5 WDG5 built ?

Yes Ankit!

DLW has set a target for 8 more this year.

Here is one picture from Sundar Mukherjee who shared it with me, after his visit to DLW recently.

 

[Ankit Kumar 002]

http://www.irfca.org/apps/locos/show/14335
Says that Gooty will be allotted 3/4/5... any particular reason for allotment down south ?

 

[anant_s]

http://www.irfca.org/apps/locos/show/14335
Says that Gooty will be allotted 3/4/5... any particular reason for allotment down south ?

Iron ore freight line traffic is the only reason that comes to mind. Besides GY has a well established maintenance facility for EMD locos.
btw,

 

[anant_s]

Evolution of Locomotives on Indian Railways
​

 

[proud_indian]

 

[proud_indian]

Art Attack: 36 stations to get a makeover as part of Mumbai’s biggest beautification drive!

Written by Local Press Co Staff on August 3, 2016

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Beautified Borivali Railway Station
​

In a first, 36 Mumbai suburban railway stations are set to get a makeover in the city’s biggest ever beautification drive in October this year.

The 36 stations, across both Western and Central line, will be cleaned, painted and beautified with murals and artwork over a seven day period. The drive will commence on October 2 and culminate on October 8.

The drive is a joint effort by Mumbai-based NGO Making a Difference (MAD) and Mumbai First, a think-tank working for the betterment of the city.
​

The beautification programme, called ‘Hamara Station Hamari Shaan’ is part of an initiative called Daan Utsav, a volunteer driven initiative that encourages people to do any act of giving of their choice.

According to a MAD volunteer, 12,000 students and working professionals from the city have already signed on the participate in the beautification drive. The NGO has also received sponsors for the beautification of 25 stations, which can cost anywhere between Rs 3 to 5 lakh per station.
The project entails beautifying the entire station premises, including staircases, foot-over-bridges (FOBs), booking windows, entrances, platforms etc. The mural and artwork at each station will depict a different theme based on the area’s culture, heritage and popular places.

Worli-based architect Manisha Rangnekar is spearheading the design part of the drive. The group has also organized a contest to encourage more designers and artists to lend a ‘creative’ hand with the project.

In the past, the group has also been lauded for the beautification of Borivali, Khar and Matunga railway stations.
​

The stations covered under the October drive are:

Western Railway
Churchgate, Marine Lines, Charni Road, Grant Road, Mumbai Central, Mahalaxmi, Lower Parel, Elphinstone Road, Dadar, Bandra, Santacruz, Vile Parle, Andheri, Jogeshwari, Goregaon, Malad, Kandivali, Dahisar. Matunga, Khar and Borivali.

Central Railway
Masjid Bunder, Sandhurst Road, Byculla or Bhaykhala, Chinchpokli, Currey Road, Parel, Sion, Kurla, Ghatkopar, Vikhroli, Kanjurmarg, Bhandup, Nahur, Mulund and Thane.
Those who wish to lend a hand as a volunteer, can do so by following the instructions mentioned here.

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Beautified Matunga Railway Station​

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Beautified Khar Railway Station

http://localpress.co.in/2016/08/art...er-part-mumbais-biggest-beautification-drive/​

https://twitter.com/x/status/761847087457677312

https://twitter.com/x/status/761847353145909248