Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
15-December, 2017 17:19 IST
Cabinet approves second financial restructuring of Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Second Financial Restructuring proposal of Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL), a CPSE under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways (MoR).
The conversion of Non-Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares (RPS), amounting to Rs. 4,079.51 crore, held by President of India through Ministry of Railways, into Compulsorily Convertible Non-Cumulative Preference Shares (CCPS), has been approved. This will shore up the net worth of the Company after implementation of the new accounting standard IND AS.
Implementation Strategy and targets:
KRCL will have to present the previous year's Balance Sheet figures restated as per IND-AS, as on 31st March 2016 and those at the opening of the business i.e., as on 1st April 2015. The conversion of the Non-cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares (RPS) into Compulsorily Convertible non-cumulative Preference Shares (CCPS) w.e.f. 31st March 2015 will make KRCL's net worth positive.
Major Impact:
- Net worth of KRCL will remain positive.
- A positive Net Worth for the KRCL is a sine qua non for the purpose of raising funds from the market at viable rate of interest, obtaining better credit rating from rating agency, qualify for bidding for new contracts and to take up various sanctioned projects on Konkan Railway route etc
- KRCL will not be categorized as a Sick Company as per DPE guidelines.
Background:
As per notification from Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) from the financial year 2016-17 onward, companies having net worth of Rs.500 crore or above as on 31st March, 2014, will have to adopt IND-AS (Indian Accounting Standards i.e. new Accounting Standards introduced on the basis of IFRS) in the preparation and compilation of Accounts. As per IND AS, the Non-Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares are treated as "Compounded Financial Instruments" and disclosed in two components - other equity and financial liability. The liability component is equal to the present value of the redemption amount on the date of the issue, considering the discount rate at the date of the issue of the preference shares. The other equity represents the component equal to the total redeemable amount of the preference shares less liability component.
Thus, a part, of Non-Cumulative Redeemable Preference Share issued to President of India (through MoR) by KRCL will have to be shown as 'Outside Liability'1 instead of 'Equity Capital' in the Balance Sheet of KRCL and the Net Worth of KRCL will turn negative.
A negative net worth of KRCL will result in:
(i) poor credit rating of KRCL.
(ii) difficulty in raising funds from market by KRCL,
(iii) difficulty in bidding for new contracts by KRCL and
(iv) KRCL will be categorised as 'sick company' as per DPE guidelines.
In view of the above, KRCL had requested to convert the existing preference shares held in the name of President of India (through MoR) into Compulsorily Convertible non-cumulative Preference Shares (CCPS) w.e.f. 31st March 2015, as CCPS can be considered as share capital under IND AS.
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Ministry of Civil Aviation
15-December, 2017 17:22 IST
Cabinet approves creation of one circle office of Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety for carrying out the functions of Commission of Metro Railway Safety under the Ministry of Civil Aviation
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the creation of one circle office of Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS), along-with all supporting officers and staffs for carrying out the functions of Commission of Metro Railway Safety as envisaged in the "Metro Railways (Operations and Maintenance) Act, 2002", in the Commission of Railway Safety under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The Cabinet also allowed assigning of additional charge of two circles to two existing Commissioners of Railway safety (CRSs) who will exercise their powers within their existing jurisdiction. These circles will not be under the jurisdiction of CMRS, New Delhi.
The post of Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety will be in HAG ( pay level 15) in the Commission of Railway Safety under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The estimated expenditure on salary will be around Rs 59,39,040 per annum for the (one) Circle office. Apart from the initial establishment of the organization. The likely expenses for the Circle office per year will be Rs.7,50,000.
Creation of these posts will ensure focused attention on the passenger safety and metro rail operation related issues, in respect of existing, as well as upcoming various metro rail projects, as envisaged in the "Metro Railways (Operations and Maintenance) Act, 2002", in the Commission of Railway Safety under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Implementation strategy and targets:
The post of Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety shall be filled from the cadre of Indian Railway Engineering Services (IRSE, IRSEE, IRSSE, RSME) & IRTS by the Ministry of Civil Aviation through nomination from willing officers from Ministry of Railways in consultation with UPSC, initially according to Recruitment Rules for Commissioner of Railway Safety in the Commission of Railway Safety. The process to fill up the posts shall be initiated within two months.
The proposal for creation of the posts of Dy. Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (Dy.CMRS) and supporting staff will be taken up with the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. On receipt of their approval, orders for creation of the post shall be released immediately.
Background:
The Commission of Railway Safety working under the administrative control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (Govt. of India), deals with the matters pertaining to safety of rail travel and train operation and is charged with certain statutory functions laid down in the Railway Act'1989. These functions are inspectorial, investigatory and advisory in nature. The Commission functions according to certain rules framed under the railways Act and executive instructions issued from time to time. The most important duty of the Commission is to ensure that any new railway line to be opened for passenger traffic should conform to the standard and specifications prescribed by the Ministry of Railways and the new line is safe in all respects for carrying the passenger traffic. This is also applicable to other works such as gauge conversion, doubling of lines and electrification of existing lines etc. The Commission also conducts statutory inquiries into serious train accidents and makes recommendations for improving safety on the railways in India.
With a view to accord priority to passenger safety and also to ensure uniformity in safety certification, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs while enacting the "Metro railways (Operations and Maintenance) Act, 2002", has assigned similar functions to Commissioner of Metro Railway safety (CMRS) in respect of Metro Railways. The CMRS will be administratively under the control of Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety under Ministry of Civil Aviation.
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Ministry of Railways
15-December, 2017 16:55 IST
Provision For Railway’s Fund In Budget
The amount allocated and utilized for passenger safety, capital and development work, cleanliness and finance and accounting reforms in Railways in the financial year 2016-17 is indicated below :-
(Rs in crore)
Items
Revised Estimate
2016-17
Actual Expenditure
2016-17
Passenger Safety
63063.00
55918.00
Capital & Development Work
121000.00
110015.60
Cleanliness
1080.81
1008.46
Finance & Accounting Reforms
26.68
28.22
This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 15.12.2017 (Friday).
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Ministry of Railways
15-December, 2017 16:55 IST
New Policy Initiatives By Railways
A number of new policy initiatives by Railways have been introduced since last few years. The details of these initiatives are as under:-
- FDI in Railways: The proposal has been cleared by Government for allowing 100 per cent FDI in Railway infrastructure, apart from operations, through automatic route.
· High-speed bullet trains : Railways has announced a Bullet Train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai with MOU between Railways and Japan.
- Policy initiatives for freight trains :-
Ø Long term tariff contract (LTTC) with key freight customers at predetermined price escalation principals.
Ø For the first time ever in Indian Railways, freight rates were reduced.
Ø Port congestion charges dropped.
Ø Busy season surcharge dropped.
Ø Dual pricing policy of iron withdrawn.
Ø Multi point loading introduced.
Ø Siding policy liberalised .
Ø Automatic freight rebate scheme in traditional empty flow direction introduced.
Ø Time tabled freight services introduced.
Ø Container sector opened up for more commodities.
Ø Goods terminals opened up for handling containers.
Ø Last mile connectivity through Roadrailers, Roll on Roll Offs Appointed Key Customer Managers to serve as single point of contact for all major freight customers.
Ø Structured dialogue between Railways and Customers christened ‘Samvad’ started.
Ø Electronic registration of Demand and Electronic transmission of Railway Receipts started.
- Railway land leased out for horticulture and plantation of trees
- Discharge free Railways – bio-toilets in all coaches.
- SRESTHA - New R&D organisation to serve the future technology needs of Railways.
- SUTRA World class data analytics, simulation softwares, network optimisation and decision support systems.
- RAIL INVESTMENT AND PLANNING ORGANISATION - Develop and own the corporate medium term and long term plan, identify investment opportunities, standardize economic easements of projects and propose optimal modes of financing.
Following administrative reforms have been introduced to make the functioning of Railways delivery oriented:-
· In October 2017, major administrative and financial powers delegated to General Managers, Divisional Railway Managers and Chief Workshop Managers for faster decision making and execution. Model Schedule of Powers issued from Railway Board for the 1st time for uniform delegations across zones (replacing 16 different Schedule of Powers of zones).
· To support Divisional Railway Managers in efficient management of the Divisions and field working, it has been decided to post extra Additional Divisional Railway Managers; at least 2 in each Division.
· To improve station management and customer service and bring more commercial orientation to the organization, Station Directors have been posted at a number of major stations.
· Protocol during VIP and higher officers’ visit/inspections have been curtailed and kept at bare minimum.
· Initiatives for employee grievance redressal :-
Ø Employee charter for time-bound redressal of employee grievances has been constituted.
Ø ‘NIVARAN’ - online grievance redressal machinery has been instituted.
· Intensive recruitment drive to fulfill safety category vacancies.
This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 15.12.2017 (Friday).
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Ministry of Railways
15-December, 2017 16:54 IST
HI-Tech System To Detect Railway Track Defects
Indian Railways is using Track Recording Cars (TRC) and Oscillation Monitoring System (OMS) for detection of track defects in addition to manual inspection. Ultrasonic Flaw Detection is also done using Single Rail Tester (SRT) and Double Rail Tester (DRT) to check internal defects in rails. Procurement of six nos. Self Propelled Ultrasonic Rail Testing (SPURT) Car for detection of internal defects in rails is also planned. Further, it has been decided to undertake trial of Ultrasonic Broken Rail Detection (UBRD) System, Rail Fracture & Intrusion Detection System using distributed optical fiber sensing and Loco-Vision Analytics and Rail Integrity Monitor system (RIM) on some stretches for detection of broken rail.
Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) based rail fracture detection system is planned on trial basis on some stretches of Northeast Frontier Railway and North Central Railway.
The implementation of Ultrasonic Broken Rail Detection (UBRD) System, Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) based System and Loco-Vision Analytics and Rail Integrity Monitor system (RIM) shall be decided after successful completion of trial.
This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 15.12.2017 (Friday).
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Ministry of Railways
15-December, 2017 16:53 IST
Agreement With Japan For Bullet Train Project
A Memorandum of Cooperation has been signed between Governments of India and Japan to implement Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor with technical and financial assistance of Government of Japan. Government of Japan has agreed to provide 81% of the project cost at a very concessional interest rate of 0.1% with repayment period of 50 years.
Besides Japanese Shinkansen’s proven reputation for reliability and safety, the project is sanctioned on the premise of transfer of technology and Make in India.
Inter country comparisons of cost of high speed rail projects are not appropriate as projects vary in terms of speed/technical parameters (actual high speed of more than 250 kmph or semi-high speed of 160-200 kmph), period of execution, scale economies due to size of high speed network being implemented and other local/geographical conditions.
Cooperation with Japan and Japanese technology was selected because of safety record and concessional financing with technological support made available by Japan.
This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 15.12.2017 (Friday).
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Ministry of Railways
15-December, 2017 16:53 IST
Survey For Char Dham Rail Route
Final Location Survey (FLS) for Char Dham (Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath) has been sanctioned in 2017-18. Tender for FLS has been taken up.
(b): The details are as tabulated below:-
Dham
Starting point
Terminal point
Yamunotri
Doiwala
Uttarkashi- Palar
Gangotri
Doiwala
Uttarkashi- Maneri
Kedarnath
Karnaprayag
Saikot- Sonprayag
Badrinath
Karnaprayag
Saikot- Joshimath
c): The location of station on Char Dham route is:-
Gangotri
Yamunotri
Doiwala
Sangatiya wala Kala
Sarangdharwala
Ampata
Marora
Kandri
Chinyalisour
Kedarnath-Badrinath
Karnaprayag
Saikot
Kedarnath
Bareth
Chopta
Mukkumath
Sonprayag
Badrinath
Thirpak
Tartoli
Joshimath
Chinyalisour
Sonprayag
Dunda
Athali (Uttarkashi)
Ladari
Palar
Maneri
This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 15.12.2017 (Friday).
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Ministry of Railways
15-December, 2017 16:52 IST
Easing Of Trains Travel For Foreign Nationals And NRIs
With a view to facilitate foreign tourists to book reserved tickets online, a facility to book tickets online upto 365 days in advance has been extended to Foreign Tourists and NRIs. Broad features of the scheme are as under:-
i. Facility to book reserved tickets online upto 365 days in advance available in Executive Class/1st AC/2nd AC in all trains including Shatabdi/Rajdhani/ Duronto/Gatiman etc.
ii. Fare equivalent to 1.5 times the base fare and other charges like reservation fee, superfast charges etc. are realised. IRCTC collects enhanced charges of ` 200 per ticket.
iii. For booking the tickets, the Passport Number, Nationality and the international Mobile Number of the passengers have to be mandatorily entered.
iv. No concession is admissible on such tickets.
v. Payment is to be made only through international debit/credit cards. An SMS confirming the reservation of the ticket is sent to the registered mobile number.
vi. The passenger who has reserved the ticket under this category has to carry the original Passport whose details have been given at the time of booking ticket, along with valid visa as identity proof and make it available for check during the journey failing which, the passenger is treated as without ticket and charged penalty equivalent to 3 times the fare of the ticket.
vii. Eight berths (two cabins) per FAC, four berths (one cabin) per FACCW, Eight berths per 2A coach (two inside berth cabins) and ten berths per EC from the general quota berths available in these classes are made available for booking 365 days in advance.
viii. In case the party seeking berth is more than the available foreign tourist quota, the confirmed accommodation is provided up to the limit of foreign tourist quota and the remaining passengers are registered and provided confirmed accommodation on the opening day of reservation. However, with a view to ensuring compaction, berths/seats can be booked in this quota upto 365 days in advance and seat/berth is provided only at the time of opening of reservation as per Advance Reservation Period (ARP) subject to availability. However, fare for all such berths/seats is charged 50% extra of the base fare.
ix. In case of cancellation of the tickets booked under this facility by the passenger, flat 50% of the fare is deducted in addition to the cancellation charges applicable while refunding the amount. The time limit for granting 50% refund is as per extant rules i.e. upto 4 hours before scheduled departure of train, through website only.
x. No change of name is permissible on such tickets under any condition.
This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 15.12.2017 (Friday).
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Ministry of Railways
15-December, 2017 16:49 IST
Identification Of Routes For Electrification Of Railway Tracks
Indian Railways have prepared an Action Plan to electrify 38000 Route Kilometers in five years (2017-18 to 2021-22) for 100% electrification of its Broad Gauge (BG) rail routes. Year wise details are as under:-
Year
Route Kilometer targeted for commissioning on electric traction.
2017-18
4000
2018-19
6000
2019-20
7000
2020-21
10500
2021-22
10500
Total
38000
Railway Electrification projects are not confined to State boundaries. State-wise route kilometers of railway lines identified for electrification and planned for inclusion in Budget 2018-19 are as under:-
SNo.
STATE
TOTAL ROUTE KILOMETERS IDENTIFIED FOR ELECTRIFICATION
1
Andhra Pradesh
385
2
Assam
1448
3
Arunachal Pradesh
12
4
Bihar
566
5
Chattisgarh
76
6
Gujarat
1088
7
Haryana
116
8
Himachal Pradesh
40
9
Jharkhand
293
10
Karnataka
1051
11
Kerala
150
12
Madhya Pradesh
416
13
Maharashtra
615
14
Mizoram
02
15
Odisha
583
16
Punjab
964
17
Rajasthan
1991
18
Telangana
301
19
Tamil Nadu
1016
20
Tripura
267
21
Uttar Pradesh
1308
22
Uttarakhand
185
23
West Bengal
802
Total
13675
To achieve 100% electrification of Broad Gauge (BG) rail routes,
pace of electrification has been increased from present average of 1700 route kilometer per Annum to 4000 Route Kilometer/Annum which will further be increased to 6000 Route Kilometers in 2018-19.
Further, to expedite electrification of railway lines in the country, various steps have been taken, which inter-alia include award of Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts, better project monitoring mechanism, enhancing power of field units for award of contracts including sanction of estimates and increasing the number of executing agencies from existing three to six by entrusting electrification works to new agencies viz. Indian Railway Construction Company, Rail India Technical and Economic Services ad Power Grid Corporation of India Limited.
This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 15.12.2017 (Friday).
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Ministry of Railways
15-December, 2017 16:47 IST
Safety Measures Taken in Indian Railways
Improvement in Rail safety is a continuous process and constant endeavour is made to improve the same. Safety Audits/inspections are undertaken at regular intervals on all railway infrastructures with a view to identify weak areas in asset maintenance, safety procedure and systemic defects and to provide ways and means to prevent accidents. Besides, periodical safety drives are launched from time to time to indicate safety consciousness amongst staff and to streamline safety aspects including maintenance of assets. As a result of safety measures, Number of train accidents have been continuously decreasing from 135 in 2014-15 to 107 in 2015-16 and down to 104 in 2016-17. During the current year i.e. 2017-18 (from 1st April to 30th November 2017), a total of 49 consequential train accidents took place over Indian Railways in comparison to the 85 accidents in the corresponding period of the previous year, which is an improvement of 42 percent over last year. Apart from this following safety measures are undertaken:-
Steps for improving Tracks:
Railway tracks are replaced through track renewal works which is an ongoing process. Track renewal works are undertaken as and when stretch of track becomes due for renewal on the basis of criteria laid down in Indian Railway Permanent Way Manual on age cum condition basis viz. traffic carried in terms of gross million tonnes & incidence of rail fracture/failure, wear of rails, and maintainability of track as per standards etc. In case any stretch of track is not renewed in time due to various reasons including scarcity of funds, material etc. suitable speed restrictions, if required, are imposed to ensure safe running of trains. Additional funds are being provided through Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) and Mega Traffic Blocks are being arranged for executing these works.
For the year 2017-18, 3600 km target has been kept for track renewal.
Digital type of machines for Ultrasonic Flaw Detection (USFD) testing of rails is being used which are more reliable. This technology is being extensively used in Indian Railways to detect flaws in rails and weld failures in advance and take remedial steps to avert train accidents.
Electronic monitoring of track geometry is carried out with Track Recording Cars (TRC) and Portable Oscillation Monitoring Systems (OMS) to detect track geometry defects for planning maintenance. Maintenance inputs are given to track and bridges as per requirement noticed during manual inspections, TRC & OMS runs and USFD testing to keep track in safe condition.
Steps for improving Signaling:
Electrical/Electronic Interlocking System with centralized operation of points and signals are being provided to eliminate human failure and to replace old mechanical systems. These systems have been provided at 5661 stations upto 31.10.2017.
Complete Track Circuiting of stations to enhance safety for verification of track occupancy by electrical means instead of human element has been completed at about 5889 stations upto 31.10.2017.
Axle Counter for Automatic clearance of Block Section (BPAC) to ensure complete arrival of train before granting line clear and to reduce human element have been provided on 4935 block sections upto 31.10.2017.
Interlocking of Level Crossing Gates to protect Level Crossing Gate with signals to avoid accidents has been done at 10921 gates upto 31.10.2017.
Further Railways have been introducing following new safety technology for smooth and safe running of trains:
Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS) - Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS) mitigates safety risk of accidents/collisions due to loco pilot’s error of Signal Passing at Danger or over speeding. It is a proven European train protection technology and deployed extensively on World Railways.
Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS) based on this proven technology has been operationalized on 342 RKMs in following sections of Indian Railways:
(a) Chennai - Gummidipundi Suburban Section of Southern Railway (50 RKMs).
(b) Dum Dum – Kavi Subhash section of Metro Railway, Kolkata (25 RKMs).
(c) Hazrat Nizamuddin – Agra Section of Northern/North Central Railway 200 RKMs).
(d) Basin Bridge - Arrakkonam Section of Southern Railway (67 RKMs).
Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) - TCAS is a developmental project being taken on a limited section of Lingamapalli – Vikarabad – Wadi - Bidar section (250 km) on South Central Railway. Operational deployment of TCAS on Railways on Absolute Block Signalling sections will be taken-up after successful conclusion of the extended field trials and safety certification of system by Independent Safety Assessor (ISA).
Extended field trials and safety validation of system to Safety Integrity Level-4 (SIL-4) by an Independent Safety Assessor (ISA) is in progress.
All Diesel locomotives are turned out from maintenance sheds with proper checking and super checking by Senior Supervisors and Officers. It is also ensured that all safety devices and equipment are functioning properly on all locomotives.
Fog PASS devices are provided to Crew working in fog affected areas.
It is ensured that no Crew is overdue for PME, Safety training, Refresher course and any other mandatory courses.
Preventive and predictive maintenance of the Railway assets is being undertaken to ensure safe train operation. Time to time special safety drives are undertaken involving officers and supervisors.
Proliferation of LHB coaches that have better safety features. It has been decided to completely switch over to the manufacture of LHB coaches from 1st April 2018 onwards and stop the manufacture of ICF coaches. Around 3,000 LHB coaches shall be manufactured every year from 1st April 2018 onwards as against average of 1000 LHB coaches in last 5 yrs. It has also been planned to retrofit around 32,000 existing ICF coaches having a life of upto 15 years and having Screw Coupling with (Centre Buffer Coupler) CBC in the next 5 years.
UMLC (unmanned level crossings): Topmost priority for eliminating UMLC gates in a time bound manner up to December 2018 and deployment of Gate Mitra for the interim period.
This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 15.12.2017 (Friday).
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Ministry of Railways
15-December, 2017 16:46 IST
Integrated Security System In Railways
Based on the recommendations of a High Level Committee,
202 railway stations have been identified as sensitive for the purpose of installation of an Integrated Security System (ISS) to strengthen surveillance mechanism at these stations. ISS includes Close Circuit Television (CCTV) Cameras, Access control, Personal and Baggage Screening System and Bomb Detection system. Contracts have already been awarded for execution of ISS works over 129 Railway stations by fifteen Zonal Railways. So far, 106 Railway stations have been covered with CCTV surveillance system under ISS over Central Railway, Eastern Railway, East Coast Railway, North Central Railway, North Eastern Railway, North Western Railway, Northeast Frontier Railway, Northern Railway, South Central Railway, South East Central Railway, South Eastern Railway, South Western Railway, Southern Railway and West Central Railway. In addition, 139 Baggage Scanners, 32 Under Vehicle Scanning System (UVSS), 217 Door Frame Metal Detectors (DFMD) and more than one thousand Hand Held Metal Detectors (HHMD) have so far been provided under ISS. Issues concerning availability of eligible vendors, inspection of items, availability of budget, etc. were initially raised by Zonal Railways. These issues have since been addressed and all the Zonal Railways have been advised to ensure speedy implementation of ISS at all the identified sensitive stations.
Besides ISS, CCTV surveillance system is available over 288 other railway stations. In addition, 983 railway stations have also been identified for installation of CCTV cameras under Nirbhaya Fund.
Strengthening and upgradation of security infrastructure is an ongoing process. Accordingly, more stations will be brought under CCTV surveillance system alongwith other security equipment in due course.
This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 15.12.2017 (Friday).
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Ministry of Railways
15-December, 2017 16:43 IST
Initiatives Taken Towards Improvement of Cleanliness in Railways
Indian Railways have taken various initiatives in improving cleanliness of stations, trains, yards and all other premises. Some of the major initiatives taken towards improvement of cleanliness are:-
(i) Mechanized cleaning methods have been adopted in major stations.
(ii) Regular intensive cleanliness drives are undertaken at various railway stations by Zonal Railways.
(iii) Enforcement of Indian Railways (Penalties for activities affecting cleanliness at railway premises) Rules, 2012 has been intensified.
(iv) Use of CCTVs has been extended for monitoring of cleanliness activities at major stations.
(v) For better cleaning of coaches of trains, mechanized coach cleaning at Depots, On Board Housekeeping Services (OBHS) in important long distance trains, “Clean My Coach” and Clean Train Station (CTS) schemes have been provided.
This has resulted in visible improvement in cleanliness.
New Standard Bid Document (SBD) has been issued recently which is being implemented for integrated housekeeping of stations and trains. This will further improve effectiveness of housekeeping contracts.
This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 15.12.2017 (Friday).
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