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Station masters on warpath Row over move to axe 40 station masters' posts By  Express News Service - KOCHI: 15th June 2013 Southern Railway Mazdoor Union members agitating in front of the station manager’s officer at Ernakulam Jn station against cutting down 40 vacancies of station master and probation officers | EPS The railways’ decision to do away with 40 posts of station masters in the Thiruvananthapuram division has kicked up a storm in various quarters. According to recognised trade unions, the division is already reeling under acute shortage of station masters. “There is a deficit of 70 station master posts in the division. Many posts are lying vacant as a lot of station masters have retired and the division has failed to make new appointments. Such decisions have been taken to favour senior officials,” Southern Railways Mazdoor Union (SRMU) members alleged. The order to scrap the posts was passed on Thursday. Accor...

Guidelines to book a rail ticket through SMS IRCTC’s ambitious SMS-based ticketing system is a reality now. Railways minister Mallikarjun Kharge launched this new system yesterday and said that the service aims to “empower the common man who does not have access to internet and cannot afford to buy smart phones.” The SMS-based ticketing system, a pilot project by IRCTC, will also effectively eliminate the menace of touts fleecing unsuspecting travellers at the time of booking tickets. Kharge added that this new system will prove especially beneficial to labourers and workers when booking tickets to their native towns. Such a system is apt for them since it is quick and hassle-free. This SMS-based ticket service can be availed through two numbers – 139 and 5676714. Those looking to book tickets by sending an SMS to 139 will have to first register their mobile numbers with IRCTC and their banks. Over 25 banks are offering this facility at the moment. Users will then receive...

India's longest railway tunnel- Inaugurated by PM Manmohan opens India’s longest railway tunnel in Kashmir Young Indian school children display the national flag from inside the first train connecting Qazigund to Banihal in Banihal of Srinagar on Wednesday. (AP)      |       |    A   A AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE Thursday 27 June 2013 Last Update 27 June 2013 1:26 am BANIHAL, India: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday opened the country’s longest railway tunnel during a rare visit to troubled Indian Kashmir, which has been marred by one of the deadliest militant attacks on soldiers in years. Singh inaugurated a stretch of line that runs through the 11-kilometer (6.8 mile) long tunnel, part of an ambitious multi-year railway project in the region, as he wrapped up his first visit to the region in three years. “It took seven years to complete,” Singh said of this section of the p...

New Refund rules New rail ticket refund rules from today Special Correspondent The Railways will not refund your ticket if it is surrendered for cancellation two hours after the actual departure of the train, as per the new refund rules effective from July 1. The time limit for a passenger holding a confirmed ticket to cancel it and claim refund has also been changed. A confirmed ticket can now be surrendered for cancellation within six hours before the actual departure of the train, instead of the existing four hours. No refund will be given on e-tickets having confirmed berth or seat if the request for cancellation is filed online after two hours of the actual departure of the train. Sources in the Railways told  The Hindu  that the revised rules would ensure early confirmation of RAC or waitlisted passengers or upgrading of passengers with a confirmed ticket. Earlier, passengers could get 50 per cent of the fare as refund and the claims could be...

LP abducted, freed Abducted train driver freed, two held Parth Shastri , TNN | Jun 28, 2013,  AHMEDABAD: Two men were arrested by  Government Railway Police  officials posted at the Ahmedabad railway station  at Kalupur. The men had allegedly abducted a train driver from the railway station on June 24. Mahesh Baje, the train driver also moonlights as a  Gujarati film director  and an organizer of magic shows. Baje had collected Rs 50 lakh for the making of a Gujarati feature film but needed more money. "He had told many of his friends and acquaintances that he had collected a large portion of the money but would need another Rs 15 to 20 lakh to start filming," said a GRP official. On June 24, four men met him at Ahmedabad railway station and offered to give him the required money. They asked him to accompany them. They took him to Gadhada in Bhavnagar district and kept him under illegal detention there. The abductors called up his f...

Rail Board for reducing duty hours of drivers Reducing duty hours of mail/express train drivers to six hours (they encounter a signal every minute on an average) to monitoring the crew on his first trip after having availed rest (since most of the signal-jumping cases have occurred after the train drivers have availed headquarter rest) are among the suggestions that came up during a recent meeting on SPAD (signal passed at danger) convened by the Railway Board. The meeting was attended by chief mechanical engineers of all zonal railways and one mechanical loco inspector from each division and was addressed by Railway Board Chairman Vinay Mittal and other high officials. The meeting followed the recent spate of train accidents including the one involving the Hampi Express on May 22 leading to the loss of 25 lives. Pressure has also been mounted on the Railway Ministry by the All-India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA) for improving safety measures in view of the fr...

Divisional office dharna file photos