Anisha Dutta

1st ‘Kisan Rail’ for perishables flagged off, transportation cost may dip by Rs 1000 per tonne

It is expected to reduce transportation costs by Rs 1000 per tonne compared with roadways and reduce travel time by around 15 hours, a railway ministry official said.

Indian Railways ends ‘bungalow peon’ practice

The announcement was made in an order issued by the railway board on Thursday amid a review of the British-era legacy following allegations that railway officers tended to misuse the services of Telephone Attendant-cum-Dak Khalasis (TADKs).

Railways set November deadline for cadre merger plan

The Union cabinet in December 2019 approved the restructuring -- trimming the Railway Board’s strength to half (from 8 to 4) and unifying its eight railways services into a central service in a bid to reform the 150-year-old Railway Board of the Indian Railways.

Land for Bullet train project: Tendering to start within three months, says Railway board chief

Indian Railways has so far completed 76% of land acquisition in Gujarat and 24% in Maharashtra; overall 60% of land acquisition for the ambitious Bullet Train project has been completed, railway board chairman VK Yadav said in an interview.

Railways to create over 1.1mn man-days work for migrants in 6 states

The plan to accelerate the construction of infrastructure is targeted at Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Phase-1 of Ayodhya station modelled on Ram Mandir to be completed by June 2021

The construction of the new station began in 2019 by the government’s construction arm RITES and has been sanctioned a total amount of Rs 104 crore.

Vital railway infrastructure projects to continue amid Covid-19 pandemic

The ministry has clarified that the order will not affect any ongoing vital infrastructure projects of the railways.

Priyanka vacates govt bungalow a day ahead of the official deadline

Priyanka Gandhi vacates Delhi bungalow, will be residing in temporary accommodation says Congress

She will be residing in a temporary accommodation until a more permanent accommodation in Delhi rented by her is ready for use, Congress said in a statement on Thursday.

Railways to put on hold new infrastructure projects this financial year

The railway ministry has clarified that the order , which has been reviewed by HT, will not affect any ongoing vital infrastructure projects of the railways.

Railways puts freeze on new projects this year to rationalise costs

The railway ministry has clarified that the order is not going to impact any of any vital infrastructure projects.

To promote Indian vendors, Railways cite need to introduce clause in procurement process

The national carrier on Saturday said there is a need to introduce a clause for promoting local content in procurement so that it get more bids from local vendors to give a boost to the government’s mission of Atma Nirbhar Bharat.

Railways earned Rs 429.90cr from Shramik trains

The national carrier received highest revenue in fares from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu with Rs 102 crore, Rs 85 crore and Rs 34 crore respectively, according to the data reviewed by HT.

Railways earned Rs 430 crore from Shramik Special train fares

The national carrier received the highest revenue of Rs 102 crore from Gujarat followed by Maharashtra ( Rs 85 crore) and Tamil Nadu (Rs 34 crore ), according to the data reviewed by Hindustan Times.

60 AI pilots involved in Vande Bharat mission test positive for Covid-19

The Centre this month said 5,03,990 Indians stranded in 137 countries have been brought back to the country as part of the repatriation mission since it began in May following the suspension of regular international flights due to the pandemic .

Low occupancy in Covid coaches ‘good sign’: Railways

The Centre built its first prototype of a Covid coach in April ; by May it was ready to deploy 5,231 railway coaches across 215 stations in 15 states considering the possibility of an increase in cases of Covid-19.

Railways to begin contactless ticketing via QR codes, airport-like check in at stations soon

Passengers will get an SMS with a QR code and URL after booking their tickets online and at the railway station the TTE will scan the displayed QR code followed by which the details of the passenger will automatically be linked across the station’s data base.

Pay cuts, compulsory leave can trigger ‘extreme acts’, say Air India pilots

On the pay cuts, it said many employee categories that have been working with relatively negligible Covid related risks and who continue to impose high input costs of the company have been insulated from large pay cuts completely for reasons that are perplexing and unknown.

Indian railways to introduce private trains in phases

According to the railway ministry’s projections, the transporter will select the companies that will run the private trains by April 2021; the first 12 are expected to start plying by 2023-24, followed by 45 more in FY 2024-25, the next 50 in FY 2025-26 and the last 44 by 2026-27.

Air India ends work-from-home for most employees from July 20

Air India advised all department heads to ensure that norms of social distancing and proper sanitisation and other related measures are strictly followed through.

Railways creates prototype of post-Covid coach to fight virus

Central vista project: 7 firms in race to build new Parliament

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) had invited pre-qualification bids in a two-bid system to construct the new Parliament building adjacent to the current Parliament building.

Rlys issues fresh tender for thermal cameras after row over specs favouring Chinese firm

The new tender also specifies that the bidder shall mention country of manufacturing against each item in SOR (schedule of requirement).

Plasma air, foot operated taps in train coaches for post-Covid phase

The first such prototype has been built by the national carrier’s production unit, Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala. The railways also plans to retrofit all its existing coaches with these amenities, officials aware of the development said.

Priyanka calls out ‘fake news’ on bungalow request, minister tweets his rebuttal

On July 1, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had cancelled the government accommodation allocated to Gandhi on the ground that she is ineligible for the entitlement, as she no longer enjoys the security cover of the Special Protection Group (SPG).

India will revisit existing business models in post-Covid-19 world: Niti Aayog tells UN

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, India’s response includes a USD 279 billion economic package, comprehensive health coverage for front-line workers and direct cash transfers for the most vulnerable, including unemployment protection for job losses.

Traders’ body urges Centre to scrap Chinese JV bid for Vande Bharat trains

The traders body has written to union railway minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday urging him to not allow the bid placed by the Chinese joint venture company CRRC Pioneer Electric (India) Private Limited which is one of the six bidders for the project.

Chinese JV among six bidders for Vande Bharat trains

The JV was established jointly by China-cased CRRC Yongji Electric Co. Ltd. and Gurugram-based Pioneer Fil-med Private Limited in 2015.

Construction bids for new Parliament to close on July 14, work to begin after winter session

Earlier this month, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) began the process to select a firm to construct a new Parliament building which will come up adjacent to the existing Parliament.

China-India joint venture only foreign bidder for Vande Bharat train sets

China-based CRRC Yongji Electric Co. Ltd. and Gurugram-based Pioneer Fil-med Private Limited formed a joint venture in 2015. Their joint venture is called CRRC Pioneer Electric (India) Private Limited.