A potentially major accident involving a local train was prevented early morning today in Mumbai. A railway keyman noticed a crack on the train tracks and immediately alerted the train driver who stopped the train, according to news agency ANI.

The local train was coming from Panvel area and was heading towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus or CSMT in south Mumbai.

The railway keyman, identified as Mukesh Kumar, detected the crack at a small stretch of the track between Tilak Nagar and Kurla, a few kilometres away from the train’s destination, at around 9.30 am, according to ANI.

A railway keyman’s job is to inspect train tracks, which usually involves walking a length of 8 km every day at a stretch to see whether railway tracks have any defects or not.

For promptly alerting the train driver and immediately fixing the crack, Mukesh Kumar will be rewarded accordingly, said officials, according to ANI.

With an aim to ensure safety in railways, the central railway has come out with an innovative idea of installing visual indicators in local trains to Mumbaikars.

Central Railway has installed a blue light visual indicator just above the entrance of one EMU coach for guiding the commuters not to board the running train, at the last moment.

The indicator flashes when to stop boarding the train before it becomes unsafe and draws a boundary on the platform which is the minimum clearance level for commuters to avoid accidents while the train is in motion.

The device will act as a psychological barrier from boarding the moving train and also as a deterrent to the people.

The work of installing the blue light visual indicator was carried out in Kurla car-shed of Central Railway under the guidance of DK Sharma, General Manager, Central Railway.

Central Railway would monitor the performance of the new blue light visual indicator and based on the outcome and commuter feedback, a decision would be taken on the installation of visual indicators on more coaches and rakes of Mumbai suburban locals.

The body of a 30-year-old woman was found hanging from a pillar of the foot bridge connecting two platforms at Jharkhand’s Dhanbad railway station, in early hours of Saturday, Government Railway Police said.

The woman was hanging by a sari from the pillar of the footbridge which connects the fourth and the fifth platforms of the station, they added.

“The fourth and fifth platforms become totally deserted after the last train of the day leaves the station at midnight. The sanitation staff informed us about a woman hanging from a pillar of the footbridge early morning,” police added.

Police found a bag, a sweater and a purse at the spot.

Indian Railways has enhanced the combined reservation quota of lower berths for senior citizens, female passengers of 45 years and above and pregnant women in mail, express trains and Rajdhani, Duronto trains, Ministry of Railways said in a statement on Thursday. The ministry said that it has revised the quota to 13 seats for normal mail or express trains having single coach of the designated class. It also said that for trains having more than one coach of the designated class the number of lower berths seats reserved will be 15.

(Also read: Indian Railways Ticket Reservation: 10 Things To Know About Booking Charges)

“While in Rajdhani, Duronto and other AC trains, the number of seats earmarked for this category will be nine,” it said.

Ministry of Railways shared the following details about its revised lower berth quota:

At present 12 lower berths are earmarked in sleeper, AC-3 tier and AC-2 tier classes for senior citizens, female passengers– 45 years of age and above– and pregnant women. In Rajdhani, Duronto and other fully air-conditioned express trains, the quota of reserved seats is seven.

In a separate announcement, Ministry of Railways released several measures to improve the quality of food in trains. Upgradation of base kitchens/kitchen units, installation of CCTV in base kitchens and their centralized monitoring, sharing of live streaming of the base kitchens through website of IRCTC, deployment of food safety supervisors, examination of quality of food and hygiene and cleanliness in pantry cars by third party audit are some of the steps to be undertaken by the railways.

To make trains more safe by eliminating human errors, Central Railway has developed an AI-powered robot which would click pictures and record videos of the under-gears of trains and send them to engineers for repairs and maintenance.

The mechanical branch of Central Railway’s Nagpur division has developed the robot named USTAAD (Undergear Surveillance Through Artificial Intelligence Assisted Droid), which examines parts of the coach in real time with a HD camera and transmits them over WiFi.

“It captures video and still photographs of the under-gear parts of the coaches in real time and transmit them over WiFi. The engineers can see these videos on big screen as well as record them. The camera of the robot can be rotated in any direction as per command given by the engineers,” Central Railway spokesperson Sunil Udasi said.

“He can also zoom on the spot in case of any doubt. It is equipped with LED flood light and able to capture the videos in low light as well as in dark mode. By use of this robot the chances of mistake and any deficiency overlooked by human eye can be eliminated thus reducing chances of human error,” he added.

With the help of USTAAD, engineers can easily see and examine areas which are hard to see and hard to approach such as cramped or narrow spaces between under-gear parts, he said.

Railways is now considering using USTAAD across zones, once tested more minutely, the official said.

A 21-year-old woman gave birth to a baby on the platform of a busy railway station in Mumbai on Christmas Eve. On the evening on Decemebr 24, Geeta Deepak Wagare and her husband were at the Dadar station, waiting for a train to Pune. As they waited, she went into labour.

CCTV visuals from the platform shows the woman lying on the floor of the platform, with her husband sitting next to her. A couple of police personnel and travellers can be seen standing around them as the woman lies in pain.

In no time, three women, including a police official, created a makeshift ‘labour room’ by holding up two bedsheets to cover Ms Wagare as she delivered the baby.

The mother and the child are said to be fine and were taken to a hospital immediately after the delivery.

In a similar incident in September, a 27-year-old woman gave birth to a baby on a platform of Bhusawal railway station in Jalgaon district of north Maharashtra. According to railway officials, the woman, Kanchandevi, who was travelling from Mumbai to Lucknow in Pushpak Express, started experiencing severe labour pain as soon as the train arrived at Bhusawal station. The woman delivered the baby on the platform before other passengers could take her to the railway hospital.

A 30-year-old woman delivered twins inside a train at Kalyan station near Mumbai in July. Salma Tabassum delivered a twin boy and girl in the presence of the station manager, a central railway medical team and railway police officials. Ms Tabassum went into labour soon after she had boarded the train early in the morning.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday remembered former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 94th birth anniversary and hailed him as a statesman who rose above partisan politics. Ms Banerjee had served as the railway minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led cabinet.

“Tribute to Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji on his birth anniversary. He was a statesman who rose above partisan politics for the country’s good. We miss him a lot,” Ms Banerjee tweeted.

The veteran BJP leader served three terms as the prime minister – first for a period of 13 days in 1996, then for 13 months from 1998 to 1999, and a full term from 1999 to 2004.

In the first stage exam for selection to Group C (Assistant Loco Pilot and Technician) posts in Indian Railways, about 13 lakh candidates have been declared qualified. 36% of the total candidates who appeared for the ‘world’s largest computer based test’ are now eligible for the second stage of the exam which is scheduled to be held in January. The said result is the ‘revised’ one, after recruitment boards of the railways received representations from candidates on errors in translation of question paper.

With this re-evaluation, the number of qualifiers has increased to more than double the number of qualifiers in the ‘scrapped’ result. In the result, declared on November 2, close to 6 lakh candidates were declared qualified.

64,371 vacancies will be filled up through two tier computer based tests, document verification and medical examination. For the assistant loco pilot post, there will be an additional aptitude test as well.

The second exam will be held on 20, 21, 22 and 23 January. The candidates can download their examination city intimation letter ten days prior to the actual day of the examination.

E-call letters will be available four days prior to the examination date. The candidates will be informed to download their e-call letter through SMS, e-mail and also notice on the website of RRB.

Candidates can view their individual scores and their qualifying status for 2nd Stage CBT by logging in through the link provided on the official website of RRBs duly entering their Registration Number and Date of Birth,’ said the railway recruitment boards after releasing the results of the first computer based test for the posts of Assistant Loco Pilot and Technicians. ‘…who have secured their respective community wise qualifying marks have been provisionally shortlisted to appear in the 2nd Stage CBT,’ it said this evening.

RRB ALP Result, Scores

‘On login, candidates can also see their question paper in which he/she has appeared along with the correct answer marked among the four options. This facility will be available only up to 19.01.2019,’ adds the official statement.

The merit list supersedes the shortlist for 2nd stage CBT published by RRBs on November 2.

‘All these candidates shall be advised through official website of RRBs / SMS / Email to download their Exam City Intimation about 10 days prior to the 2nd Stage CBT. The e-call letter will be available for download 4 days prior to CBT date,’ it said about the second CBT which is scheduled to be held from January 20 till January 23.

Three Asiatic lions were killed in the Gir forest division in Gujarat’s Amreli district when a train ran over them on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. The lion carcasses were found on the railway tracks in the Borala village early on Tuesday morning, forest officials said.

“A pride of six lions was passing by the railway track when a goods train crossed the track and killed three of them at around 12:45 am,” Dushyant Vasavada, Chief Conservator of Forests of Junagadh Wildlife Circle, told NDTV. The goods train was going from Botad to Pipavav.

Two male lions and one lioness, between the age of 1.5 and 2 years, were killed in the accident, Mr Vasavada said. He added that a probe is on in the incident. “We are trying to get details on the train speed, negligence of trackers and forest staff. Stringent action will be taken against the defaulters,” he said.

At least 30 lions have died in Gir forest division since September. Following the outbreak of CDV infection in September, 36 lions were captured and shifted to three rescue centres as a precautionary measure. Twenty-three big cats had died in Gir in a short span of three weeks in September.

Applications have been invited by the Railway recruitment cell, East Central Railway, from candidates interested, for apprenticeship training. The railways proposes to fill 2234 slots through this recruitment process in designated trades like fitter, carpenter, painter, wireman, welder, mechanic diesel, etc. Candidates will be posted at Danapur, Dhanbad, Mughalsarai, Samastipur, and Harnaut divisions under the East Central Railway. Candidates who have cleared class 10 with at least 50% marks and have ITI qualification are eligible to apply. They will be selected on the basis of the average of marks obtained in both the exams.

Apply Online

The last date for submission of application is January 10.

The candidates should have completed 15 years of age and should not have completed 24 years of age as on 11.12.2018, reads the eligibility guidelines.

The candidate must have obtained the National Trade Certificate in the designated trade issued by National Council for Vocational Training or Provisional Certificate issued by National Council for Vocational Training/ State Council for Vocational Training.

Application fees for the recruitment is Rs. 100.

‘Candidates should note and take cognizance of the fact that this is a Centralised Notification for engagement of Act Apprentice under the Apprentices Act 1961 for East Central Railway’s Divisions/Units. Railway Recruitment Cell, East Central Railway (RRC/ECR) has been nominated as nodal agency for obtaining ONLINE applications from candidates and preparation of their merit list,’ said the Chairman, RRC, East Central Railway.

‘Due to incorrect bank account details, refund transaction has failed,’ said an official statement from the railways on exam fee refund. Candidates who have appeared for the railway exam for assistant loco pilot and technician recruitment, will receive a refund on the exam fees deposited by them during registration process. While candidates belonging to reserved categories will receive a total refund, those belonging to general category will receive a part of it.

RRB ALP Revised Result For First Stage Computer-Based Exam Expected Soon

This decision came after candidates opposed to an abrupt hike in the fees soon after the recruitment notification, CEN 01/2018, was released in February. To facilitate easy and immediate refund, the recruitment boards of the railways (RRBs) had asked candidates to fill their bank details in the application form.

However, ‘ the refund has failed due to incorrect Bank details furnished by them such as wrong account number, wrong IFSC Code of the Bank Branch, filling up customer ID in place of account number etc.’ the official statement added further.

So, the boards have given one more chance to such candidates. A bank account rectification link will be activated on the RRB websites from December 18 to December 25, where candidates can furnish correct details of the bank accounts they possess.

RRBs will intimate the concerned candidates through SMS on December 17.

 Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) are in the process of preparingrevised shortlist for the first stage Computer-based Test (CBT) conducted for the recruitment on Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP) and Technician posts. RRBs had earlier released the result for the first stage CBT on November 2 and had received representation from candidates on the language translation of the model question paper and the corresponding answer key. In light of the representations received, RRBs took the decision to review and release revised shortlist.

While there were several speculations on the prospective revised result date, RRBs released a notice on December 4, 2018 to put speculations to rest. As per the latest update, the RRB ALP revised result will be released by December 20, 2018.

Along with the revised result, RRBs would also release revised shortlist. Candidates who get shortlisted will have to appear in the second stage CBT.

Earlier, the ALP second stage CBT was scheduled to begin on December 12 and conclude on December 14. The exam was initially pushed to December 24 after RRB’s decision to revise the results.

As per a notification released by the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB), Allahabad few more candidates have been selected for the Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP) and Technician posts through the recruitment notified in 2014. ‘Candidates whose results were earlier kept withheld for want of certain clarification, have been now cleared for inclusion in the provisional panel for the posts mentioned below of CEN 01/2014,’ said the Chairman, RRB Allahabad.

Such candidates have been provisionally selected and their appointment is subject to being found suitable in medical standards and verification which will be conducted under the instructions of Principal Chief Personnel Officer-North Central Railway, Subedarganj, Allahabad and Principal Chief Personnel Officer, Northern Railway, Baroda House, New Delhi.

Results of five candidates are, still, withheld.

On the other hand, the candidates are waiting for a revised results first stage Computer-Based Test of current recruitment of same posts, which are expected on December 20.

The first result of ALP exam, announced on November 2, 2018, was cancelled on the grounds of erroneous translations in question paper. 36 lakh candidates took the exam, which was held in 15 regional languages.

For the group D recruitment exam, 1.89 crore candidates had registered. Each day 3 to 4 lakh candidates are appearing at the examination and the attendance has been over 60%.

A 20-year-old man allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front a suburban train near Kalyan railway station in Thane district of Maharashtra, the police said.

The incident came to light on Thursday after the decapitated body of the victim was found lying on the tracks.

The motive behind his extreme step is not yet known, the police said, but the man, identified as Rohit Pardeshi, left a video message on his phone which said nobody should be blamed for his death.

Inspector Dinkar Pingle of Kalyan Railway police station said a case of accidental death was registered and his body was sent for post-mortem.

“Police found that the victim’s head was lying on the one side of the track, while the torso on the other side. When we checked his mobile phone, we found that he had recorded a video suicide message,” the official said.

The message also said that he had nobody in the family except his younger brother and all the property should go to him, the police said.

Indian Railways enables passengers to book a series of journeys through its circular journey facility. Train tickets under this option – available on select routes – are issued for journeys that begin and complete at the same station, according to India Railways’ official website – indianrailways.gov.in. Circular journey tickets give the benefit of “telescopic rates”, which are considerably lower than regular point-to-point fare, according to the Railways. These rates are calculated on mail/express fares. Circular journey tickets can be purchased only for second and sleeper booking classes, and under this facility, a maximum of eight breaks of journey are admissible, according to the Indian Railways website.

How to book Indian Railways’ circular journey tickets

The Railways has prescribed the following steps for booking tickets under the circular journey facility:

1. Once the itinerary is finalised, the passenger can approach the divisional commercial managers of the division, or station managers of certain major stations to which the journey commencing station belongs.

2. The divisional commercial manager or the station authorities will calculate the cost of the tickets based on the itinerary. They then share the details with the concerned station manager in the prescribed format.

3. Passengers can purchase circular journey tickets by presenting this form at the booking office of the station from the proposed destination to start the journey.

RRB ALP 2018: RRB ALP, Technician candidates will have to wait a while longer to know their qualifying status for RRB ALP 2nd stage CBT. As per a latest update, the revised result for RRB ALP Technician 1st CBT is likely to be announced on December 20, 2018. Along with the result update, RRBs have also announced revised exam dates for RRB ALP 2nd CBT. The RRB ALP 2nd CBT which was due to start on December 24, will now be held in January 2019.

As per the latest notification released by RRBs, the exam date for RRB ALP Technician 2nd CBT has been shifted from December 2018 to January 2019. The exams will now be held on 21st, 22nd, and 23rd January 2019. This will give the candidates an additional one month to prepare for the RRB ALP 2nd CBT.

The exam date and city details will be released in due course of time. The admit cards for the 2nd CBT will be released four days prior to the exam.

Along with the RRB ALP 2nd CBT, the exam syllabus and pattern for the 2nd CBT has also been released. In the RRB ALP 2nd CBT, candidates would have to appear in two papers – Part A and Part B.

Part A will be common for candidates of all the trade. RRB ALP 2nd CBT part A will be of 90 minutes duration. There would be 100 questions – there would be 25 questions each from Mathematics, and General Intelligence and Reasoning, there would be 40 questions from Basic Science and Engineering, and 10 questions from General Awareness and Current Affairs. There will be negative marking for wrong answers. For every wrong answer, 1/3rd mark will be deducted.

Part B will be ‘Trade’ specific. RRB ALP 2nd CBT part B will be of 60 minutes duration. There would be 75 questions. This section will also have negative marking and for every wrong answer, 1/3rd mark will be deducted.

Railways has got its first engine with aerodynamic and ergonomic design. “With a speed potential of 200 kilometers per hours, this WAP-5 loco is energy efficient and stable for high speed operation,” the Ministry of Railways tweeted.

The engine has been produced by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works and will be used to haul trains like Rajdhani Express, Gatiman Express and Shatabdi Express.

The Railways will also put country’s first engineless train, Train 18, for trials on October 29.

Train 18 is being regarded as a successor to the 30-year-old Shatabdi Express. Driven by a self-propulsion module sans a separate locomotive, the train is capable of running at a speed of up to 160 kmph.

The swanky 16-coach prototype without a locomotive (engine) will cut travel time by 15 per cent compared to the Shatabdi.

GUWAHATI :Protesters tried to put up blockades on railway tracks this morning in order to disrupt train services across Assam, as part of the 12-hour state-wide ‘bandh’ or shutdown called by 46 organisations protesting against the Citizenship Bill.

Police officials said that the demonstrators, who were trying to prevent train movement by sitting on tracks, were being evicted.

Demonstrators also burnt tyres on roads at various places across the state, the police said.

Police escorts were provided to public transport vehicles to ensure transport services functioned normally during the ‘bandh’ or shutdown.

The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) and 44 other organisations have called the 12-hour shutdown to protest against the Centre’s bid to pass the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, in the Winter Session of Parliament.

Political parties, including the Congress and the AIUDF, have extended their support to the bandh (shutdown) “in the interest of Assam and its indigenous people.”

All district magistrates and superintendents of police had been instructed by the BJP government in the state to take measures to maintain public utility services in view of the ‘bandh’ call.

A government order in this regard called for necessary pre-emptive and preventive measures to thwart the shutdown, saying these must be taken in view of the judgement of the Gauhati High Court.

The deputy commissioners of respective districts had issued orders that all government officials should attend to their duties.

It also said that shops, business establishments, educational institutions should remain open and transport facilities should function normally.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was introduced in the Lok Sabha to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 to grant Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who fled religious persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan and entered India before December 31, 2014.

State Finance and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said on Monday that the Gauhati High Court had ruled that calling a ‘bandh’ or shutdown was an illegal act and so the statewide shutdown called by 46 organisations on Tuesday cannot be allowed as it will amount to contempt of court.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today issued notices to the Railways and the Punjab government over the Amritsar accident in which nearly 60 Dussehra revellers were killed when they were run over by a train while watching the festivities.

Issuing the notices, the Commission observed that it cannot be said to be a “sane act” by people to sit on railway tracks, but at the same time, the “negligence on the part of the district authorities is apparent” behind this “bizarre and horrific incident”.

The NHRC issued notices to the state’s chief secretary and the chairman of the Railway Board seeking detailed reports in the matter in four weeks, an NHRC spokesperson said.

The NHRC has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports that many people died on the spot and several others got seriously injured in Amritsar district of Punjab, where several people watching Dussehra celebrations from the railway tracks were mowed down by a passenger train on October 19.

“It seems that the local authorities and the organizers did not properly manage the crowd, gathered to watch the Dussehra celebrations. It was the responsibility of the State to provide proper safety and protection to the citizens during the event.

“If it is true, as reported in some sections of the media, that the railway authorities were not informed about the event, it indicates towards highly negligent and reckless attitude of the authorities responsible. This is a case of serious violation of human rights of the victims,” the NHRC said in a statement.

The state government is expected to provide all details to the NHRC regarding disbursement of relief and rehabilitation to the aggrieved families as well as information on the status of the treatment being provided to the injured in different hospitals of Amritsar, it said.