New Delhi:

Observing that there was negligence and deficiency in services by the Indian Railway, a consumer commission here has directed its general manager concerned to pay more than Rs 1.08 lakh to a passenger whose luggage was stolen during a journey.

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Central District) was hearing the complaint which said the passenger’s bag containing valuables worth Rs 80,000 was stolen by some unauthorised passengers in January 2016 between Jhansi and Gwalior when he was travelling in a reserved coach of the Malwa Express.

“It was the duty of the railways for safe, secure and comfortable journey as well as safety and security of belongings of passengers,” the complaint said.

The commission, comprising its president Inder Jeet Singh and member Rashmi Bansal, said it had the territorial jurisdiction to try the case as the complainant boarded the train from New Delhi and there was “a continuity of the journey” till its arrival in Indore.

Besides, the office of the opposite party (General Manager, Indian Railway) was situated within the commission’s jurisdiction, it said in an order passed on June 3.

The commission rejected the argument of the railways that the complainant was negligent about her belongings and that the luggage was not booked.

Noting that the complainant was made to “run from pillar to post to register an FIR”, the commission said, “The manner in which the episode has happened and valuables were stolen followed by the efforts of the complainant to get the FIR registered with the authorities for appropriate enquiry or investigation, she suffered all kind of inconvenience and harassment to pursue her legal rights.” It said the complainant had established her case against the Indian Railway for negligence and deficiency in service as her belongings kept in a bag were stolen during her journey against reserved ticket.

“Had there been no negligence or deficiency in services on the part of the opposite party or its staff, there would be no such incident. There is no other defence or evidence to deny the value of the articles being carried by the complainant during her journey, therefore, the complainant is held entitled to reimbursement of loss of Rs 80,000,” the commission said.

It also awarded her Rs 20,000 as damages for suffering inconvenience, harassment and mental agony besides Rs 8,000 towards litigation cost.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Out of around 10 lakh sanctioned posts under the safety category in the Indian Railways, more than 1.5 lakh are vacant, the Railway Ministry has said in response to an application under the Right to Information Act in March.

Officials, however, have said the safety of trains is of topmost priority and the railways have made significant investments in this matter in the past 10 years while also taking up many structural and systemic improvements that have had a positive impact on safe operations.

Safety category posts include train drivers, inspectors, crew controllers, loco instructors, train controllers, track maintainers, station masters, pointsmen, electric signal maintainers and signalling supervisors among others.

Being directly involved in the running of trains, personnel in these posts are crucial to safe train operations.

“The total number of sanctioned, on roll (working) and vacant posts in safety category of Indian Railways, as available in this office, as on 01.03.2024 (provisional) are: 10,00,941, 8,48,207 and 1,52,734 respectively,” the ministry said in response to the RTI application.

Responding to a question in the RTI application about vacant posts of loco pilots (mail/express/passenger/goods/shunting), the Railway Ministry said out of a total sanctioned post of 70,093, as many as 14,429 are vacant.

Chandra Shekhar Gaur, the RTI applicant based in Madhya Pradesh, said, “The response shows the Railways also suffers due to the vacancy in post of the assistant drivers. Out of the total sanctioned posts of 57,551 for assistant drivers, 4,337 are vacant.” In the RTI application, Gaur also sought to know how many new posts were created and how many posts were surrendered in the Indian Railways in the past four years.

To this, the Railways replied, “It is stated that this information is not centrally maintained in this office. It is scattered. It pertains to more than one Public Authority i.e. All Zonal Railways and Production Units etc.” “The ministry advised me that such information can be obtained from the public authorities concerned by submitting separate applications to them under the RTI Act. I think such crucial information should be centrally maintained,” Gaur said.

Railway trade unions have raised the issue of rising stress on officials and workers in the safety category due to a shortage of personnel.

“This is the reason why accidents are happening. Employees in the safety category are overstretched. They have to work beyond their mental and physical strength,” Ashok Sharma, the assistant general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Railwaymen, said.

“The biggest problem is that the Railway Ministry has stopped the creation of all safety category posts about two years ago and now such posts cannot be created without the concurrence of the Finance Ministry,” he claimed.

However, a senior railway official said investment in safety-related projects in the 2014-24 period was 1,78,000 crore which was 2.5 times the corresponding investment of 70,273 crore in the 2004-14 period.

“The focus is on further enhancing safety measures. Improvements related to tracks, signalling, locomotives and trains are part of this endeavour,” he said.

The official also said training loco pilots, loco inspectors, and station masters are also of top priority. “Simulators are being introduced for better training,” he added. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Union Railways and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday that in the next five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi guarantees that almost any passenger who wants to travel can easily get a confirmed ticket.

In an interaction with IANS, Ashwini Vaishnaw said that in the last 10 years, PM Modi has done unprecedented transformation in Railways.

“In the next five years, PM Modi guarantees that the capacity of the Railways will be increased so much that almost any passenger who wants to travel can easily get a confirmed ticket,” the Union Minister emphasised.

Sharing an example of how the Indian Railways has transformed in the last decade, the Union Minister informed that in the process of building railway tracks, only 17,000 kilometres of tracks were built between 2004 and 2014.

“From 2014 to 2024, 31,000 kilometres of new tracks were built. In the 10 years from 2004 to 2014, only around 5,000 kilometres were electrified, whereas in the last 10 years, a staggering 44,000 kilometres of railway electrification took place,” Ashwini Vaishnaw noted.

“Only 32,000 coaches were made from 2004-2014. In the last 10 years, 54,000 coaches were built. For the dedicated freight corridor, not even a single kilometre was commissioned before 2014. Now, two dedicated freight corridors of 2,734 kilometres have been commissioned,” the Union Minister informed.

In the next five years, Railways, which are a strong link in the growth of the country’s economy, “will be further strengthened and the facilities, especially for the passengers, will be expanded at a much faster pace”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A user on the microblogging website X and the Railway Ministry took swipes at each other over a viral video of a crowded 2nd AC sleeper coach in which many people were seen allegedly travelling without a ticket.

The user, Kapil, alleged that the crowd had reached “one of the most premium coaches” of Indian trains.

“Only First AC is left to be destroyed,” he said on Friday while re-sharing an April 14 video of the overcrowded Kashi Express, which runs between Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur.

The video was originally shared by a passenger on the train and showed people blocking the pathway to the washroom and standing at the entry and exit doors.

“Due to the open doors, the AC of the train was not working well,” he claimed and tagged Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, urging him to take necessary action.

This is not a General Coach
This is not a Sleeper Coach
This is not a 3AC Coach

This is a 2nd AC Coach!!

The crowd has reached one of the most premium coaches of Indian Trains. Only First AC is left to be destroyed by @AshwiniVaishnawpic.twitter.com/qyByUevhUd

— Kapil (@kapsology) April 19, 2024

The Ministry of Railways, however, responded to Kapil’s tweet on Saturday and shared a “present video of the coach”, which showed “no overcrowding”.

“Please don’t malign the image of Indian Railways by sharing misleading videos,” the Ministry said.

The present video of the coach. No overcrowding. Please don’t malign the image of Indian Railways by sharing misleading videos. https://t.co/70xQkhRVdTpic.twitter.com/ivz9LDyFly

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) April 20, 2024

In response, the user pointed out that the Ministry shared today’s video to “call something misleading” that happened on April 14.

“Your intimidation is not going to stop the Indians from exposing the poor service offered by Indian Railways,” he wrote.

Railways To Operate Record Summer Train Trips

The Railway Ministry on Friday said that it will operate 43 per cent more train trips this summer as compared to last year to ensure that more passengers can travel to their desired destinations.

In a press statement, the Railway Ministry said that to ensure the convenience of passengers and manage the anticipated surge in travel demand during summer, it is operating a “record-breaking” 9,111 trips during this season.

“This marks a substantial rise compared to the summer of 2023, where a total of 6,369 trips were offered. This translates to an increase of 2,742 trips, demonstrating the Indian Railways’ commitment to meeting passenger demands effectively,” it said.

Out of these 9,111 train trips, the Western Railway will operate the highest number — 1,878 — followed by the North Western Railway with 1,623 trips. Other Railway zones, which will run a significant number of trips are the South Central Railway (1,012 trips) and the East Central Railway (1,003).

“All zonal railways spread across India have geared up to operate these additional trips catering to the summer travel rush from states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi,” the Ministry said.

Buxar:

Coaches can be seen strewn on both sides of the track, a few of these several feet away, in Raghunathpur, a non-descript town in Buxar district of Bihar where the North East Express derailed.

Four AC coaches, all of which have jumped the rails but remained coupled, form a scary serpentine pattern with shattered window panes serving as a telltale sign.

The guard of the Assam-bound train, Vijay Kumar, recalls having fallen unconscious from the impact of the derailment.

“I was busy with my paperwork when I realized that the driver suddenly applied brakes. This was followed by a few jerks, and I fainted. Later, I found myself in the adjoining fields, where villagers were sprinkling drops of water on my face,” said Kumar, who has sustained minor injuries.

With the rescue of passengers complete, the focus is now on restoration.

The entire area has been cordoned off as villagers watch gigantic cranes and machinery used for cutting through metal at work. They feel that, given the scale of devastation, it may be several days before the tracks are again fit for traffic.

Railways, though, insist that it will not take that long.

Mahendra Yadav, a 64-year-old resident of Madhepura district who was traveling in an AC 3-tier coach, recalled amid sobs, “It was an experience I may never forget. Suddenly, all of us started getting tossed off our berths by a force that none of us could fathom.” The elderly person is full of gratitude for local residents who had rushed to the spot and pulled out most of the passengers from the toppled coaches by the time the railway and other administrative officials arrived with assistance.

In an adjoining coach, Mohd Nasir and Abu Zayed, both residents of Kishanganj district, were fast asleep, perhaps enjoying pleasant dreams of a vacation at home, away from the hustle and bustle of Delhi.

As fate would have it, only one of them survived to witness the horror, which may remain a memory etched in his consciousness for some time to come.

“We had boarded the train on Wednesday morning. It was a tiring journey, and after having an early dinner, we went to sleep. The train would have reached Kishanganj early the next morning. Suddenly, I felt a jolt and got thrown off my berth. It took a while before I could understand what had happened,” said Nasir, with shock writ large on his gaunt, bespectacled face.

While Nasir thanked his stars for escaping with minor bruises in the accident, which saw virtually the entire train being thrown off the rails, his eyes turned moist as he recalled rescue personnel taking away the body of Abu Zayed, who is in his 20s, informing him that his friend was dead.

Ishalaur Rehman, a resident of Delhi, recalled how 10-15 people fell on him after a sudden jolt.

“I am lucky to have survived the accident with a minor injury to my hand. But what I saw was unforgettable. I boarded the train at Prayagraj for New Jalpaiguri. I was sitting on my seat, but suddenly, there was a deafening sound, and we were thrown from our seats. I could only hear screams all around,” he said.

“Locals took us to the nearby health center. Now, I am fine,” he added.

Twenty-three coaches of the train, on the way to Kamakhya in Assam from Delhi’s Anand Vihar station, derailed near Raghunathpur on Wednesday night.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Indian Railways has earned an additional revenue of more than Rs 2,800 crore from child travellers in the last seven years by revising child travel fare norms, an RTI response has found.

The response from the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) under the Right to Information (RTI) Act further indicates that the financial year of 2022-23 alone earned Rs 560 crore due to the amended norms making it the most profitable year.

CRIS, an organisation under the Ministry of Railways, provides IT solutions in core areas such as ticketing and passengers, freight services, train traffic control and operations, among others.

On March 31, 2016, the ministry announced that the railways would charge full adult fare for children of age 5 years and under 12 years if they opted for separate berths or seats in a reserved coach. The revised norm was made applicable from April 21, 2016.

Earlier, the railways used to offer separate berths to children between 5 and 12 years while charging only half the travel fare.

Though children of the said age group have been allowed in the revised norm to travel at half the fare, they don’t get separate berths or seats and they have to be accommodated on the seat of the adult with whom they are travelling.

The CRIS has provided the year-wise data in a tabular form from the financial year of 2016-17 to 2022-23 of two categories of children based on their fare options.

The data shows that in these seven years, over 3.6 crore children travelled paying half fare without opting for a reserved seat or coach. On the other hand, over 10 crore children opted for a separate berth/seat and paid full fare.

“The response also suggests that out of total children who travel by the railways, about 70 per cent prefer to pay full fare and get a berth or seat,” Chandra Shekhar Gaur, the RTI applicant, said.

He added, “In a long distance journey, it is very painful for both the child and the adult to use one berth or seat. The revision of norms has turned out to be a windfall gain for the railways.” Gaur said the data also shows that the Covid pandemic played a spoilsport as the year 2020-21 earned only Rs 157 crore due to the revised norm making it the least profitable year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)