Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, Hon’ble Minister for Railways Launches various Rail Infra Developmental Works

Giving a sizeable boost to better passenger convenience,Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, Hon’ble Minister of Railways launched various rail infra developmental works today i.e. 29^th December, 2016 at a function held at Rail Bhavan, New Delhi and simultaneously at Secunderabad and Lingampet Jagityal Railway stations. The works which were launched are -

·Commissioning of 500 kWp Grid Connected Solar System at Secunderabad Railway station.

·Commissioning of LED based lighting at MMTS stations in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

·Inauguration of renovated MMTS Booking office o­n Platform No.6/7 at Secunderabad station.

·Inauguration additional Foot over Bridge at Hyderabad Station via remote video link.

·Launch of Hi-speed Wi-Fi at Secunderabad and Hyderabad stations.

·Flagging off extension of Karimnagar-Lingampet Jagityal DEMU service upto Morthad.

Addressing the gathering at all the three places from New Delhi o­n the occasion, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu acknowledged the cooperation being extended by the Telangana State Government towards developing Railway network in the State.The Railways is looking forward to use the potential of the State by signing a JV for jointly developing Railway projects in Telangana, towards which the State Government too is forthcoming, he added. Focusing o­n Safety of the Rail services as the foremost priority, the Railway Minister stated that a Safety plan is made to address the inadequacies which are inherited as a bad legacy. Indian Railways is sure to become the preferred mode of transportation in the future, he stressed.

Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, Hon’ble Minister of State for Labour and Employment (Independent Charge), Govt. of India who was present at New Delhi stated that in the last two years, the rail projects have been given due attention and funds allocated for completion. He stated that the completion of Nizamabad-Karimnagar-Peddapalli Railway line will provide excellent Rail connectivity in the State. He also opined that the MMTS Phase-II project in progress will help in enhancing civic infra to suburban places around the twin cities such as Medchal and Bhongir. Smt K.Kavitha, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Nizamabadalso spoke at the function at New Delhi.

Earlier, Shri Vasishta Johri, General Manager, South Central Railway in his welcome address highlighted the salient benefits of the various Rail initiatives launched and stated that the Zone is committed to serve the people to the best.

Shri Naini Narsimha Reddy, Hon’ble Minister for Home, Prisons, Fire Services, Sainik Welfare, Labour & Employment,Telangana; Shri Mohd. Ali Khan, Hon’ble MP (Rajya Sabha) and Shri P.Mahender Reddy, Hon’ble Minister for Transport, Telangana also spoke o­n the occasion at Secunderabad. Shri T. Padma Rao Goud, Hon’ble Minister for Excise & Prohibition, Sports and Youth Services, Telangana and Shri Bonthu Rammohan, Hon’ble Mayor were also present.

Use of Solar and Wind Energy by Indian Railways

Indian Railways (IR) proposes to harness 1000 Mega Watt (MW) solar power by 2020. As part of this, about 500 MW solar plants are planned on rooftop and about 500 MW through land mounted panels. IR also proposes to harness about 150 MW wind energy, by itself or through Railway Energy Management Company Limited (REMCL). A total of about 50 MW renewable energy capacity has been installed till July 2016, including approximately 13 MW solar and 37 MW wind plants.

This Press Release is based on information given by the Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 03.08.2016 (Wednesday).

Seventy Employees Bag Man of the Month Awards

South Central Railway bestowed Seventy employees with “Man of the Month Award” for the months of September, October, November and December 2015. The Awards were presented by Shri Ravindra Gupta, General Manager, South Central Railway, today i.e 15^th February, 2016 at General Managers Chamber, Rail Nilayam, Secunderabad.

Shri A.K. Gupta, Addl. General Manager, Shri S.P. Sahu, Chief Safety Officer, Shri S.N. Singh, Principal Chief Engineer, Shri Kabir Ahmed, Chief Mechanical Engineer Shri Solan Gupta, Chief Electrical Engineer, Shri Sivaprasad, Chief Passenger Traffic Manager were present o­n the occasion.

Belonging to various safety categories, the band of awardees consists of Loco Pilots, Loco Inspectors, Station Managers, Train Guards, Points Men, Night Patrol Men, Engineering Staff, Gate Men, Carriage & Wagon Technicians, Signal & Tele-communication Technicians, Electrical Staff, RPF Staff, from all the Divisions of SCR.  

 
When noticed unsafe incidents / conditions o­n the tracks or o­n the trains, these awardees responded quickly to avoid untoward incidents which might have endangered the safety of passengers/railway properties.  They have promptly informed the authorities concerned for appropriate immediate action to rectify the defects.  The unsafe conditions noticed by them include roller bearing failures, weld failures, rail fractures, break binding, body bulging, jerk messages, Level Crossing in open condition, smoke/fire o­n the rolling stock, etc.

Shri Ravindra Gupta, GM, SCR inaugurates -Hi-Tech Offset Printing Machine for Ticket Printing -Aadhar Enabled Bio-metric attendance system at Central Railway Hospital

Two new facilities have been commissioned o­n South Central Railway today i.e., 9^th February, 2016 at the hands of Shri Ravindra Gupta, General Manager, South Central Railway. The newly inaugurated facilities are set to enhance SCR’s in-house efficiency in varied measure.

Hi-Tech Offset Printing Machine for Ticket Printing Commissioned:-

The SCR Printing Press, Secunderabad which started functioning in 1966 with Letter Press Technology shifted to the use of Offset Technology in 1981. Taking a giant leap forward, the Printing Press has imbibed Hi-tech Offset Printing Technology with the introduction of sophisticated 9 Colour Web Offset Printing Machine for production of Passenger Reservation / Unreserved tickets (PRS/UTS). The newly commissioned machine was inaugurated by Shri Ravindra Gupta, General Manager, SCR today i.e., 9^th February, 2016.

The Offset Printing machine is capable of printing tickets with multi colour o­n both sides with absolute accuracy and reliability. The newly inaugurated printing machine is designed to meet the requirements of East Coast Railway, South Western Railway and South East Central Railway. The machine is also capable of undertaking multi colour printing works o­n mass scale.

With the commissioning of the new facility, the Ministry of Railways will also overcome the need for Printing PRS/UTS tickets through outside sources in the region.

Aadhar Enabled Bio-metric attendance system at Central Railway Hospital, Lallaguda Commissioned:-

 Shri Ravindra Gupta, General Manager, SCR inaugurated the Aadhar enabled Bio-Metric Attendance System (AEBAS) at Central Hospital, Lallaguda today i.e., 9^th February, 2016.

           The Bio-Metric attendance system has been installed as a employee welfare centric measure at the Central Hospital, Lallaguda, since it enables the Doctors, Para Medical & Support staff to attend to duties in time, thereby ensuring that the Out Patient Departments, Wards etc., are manned / attended without causing any inconvenience to patients. A total of eight Bio-metric machines have been installed at the premises.

RPF Rescues Woman from Committing Suicide

A woman aged 35 years who attempted suicide at Guntakal Railway Station o­n 23.11.2015 at about 18:00 hrs was saved by the Railway Protection Force, Guntakal. The Inspector, Protection Force of RPF/ Guntakal spotted the woman standing in the middle of the track with the intention of committing suicide, where Train No. 56503 Bangalore Cantonment- Vijayawada Passenger Train was about to pass. Immediately the Inspector along with other staff pulled her out from the death trap and brought her to Guntakal Railway Post, where enquiries were conducted. She was found to be in possession of a General ticket from Prasannayana Palli to Guntakal. The RPF informed her relatives who came and received her under acknowledgement.

New Refund Rules from 12th November 2015

New Refund Rules W.e.f. 12.Nov.2015. 

The major changes in the existing rules and the amendments in refund rules are as under:-

Unused (unreserved) tickets o­n which no reservation has been made:

Existing rule

Amended rule

If a ticket o­n which no reservation of a seat or berth has been made is presented to the station master for cancellation refund of fare shall be made   o­n every such ticket after deducting the clerkage.  (i) within three hours after the actual departure of the train for which the ticket is issued or (ii) for any ticket valid for the whole day, within three hours after the actual departure of the last train of the day for the destination station

If a ticket o­n which no reservation of a seat or berth has been made is presented for cancellation, refund of fare shall be made o­n every such ticket after deducting the clerkage.   (i)The ticket shall be presented for cancellation within three hours of issue of ticket.  (ii) In case of tickets issued in advance the ticket is presented upto 2400 hours of the day preceding the day of journey.

       Unused tickets o­n which reservation has been made:

(i)                  if the ticket is presented for cancellation more than forty eight hours in advance of the scheduled departure of the train, a minimum per passenger cancellation charge shall be deducted at the flat rate of rupees two hundred and forty for air-conditioned first class/executive class, rupees two hundred for air-conditioned-II tier/first class, rupees one hundred eighty for air-conditioned III-tier/ 3 economy/air-conditioned chair car, rupees one hundred twenty for sleeper class and rupees sixty for second class.

(ii)                if the ticket is presented for cancellation between forty eight hours and upto twelve hours before the scheduled departure of the train, cancellation charge shall be twenty five per cent of the fare subject to a minimum of the cancellation charge.  

(iii)              if the ticket is presented for cancellation within twelve hours before the scheduled departure of the train and upto four hours before the scheduled departure of the train irrespective of distance the cancellation charge shall be fifty per cent of the fare subject to a minimum of the cancellation charge.

(iv)              No refund shall be granted o­n the reserved ticket if it is surrendered for cancellation before four hours of the actual departure of the train.  

                     

(v)               In case, on a party ticket or a family ticket issued for travel of more than o­ne person, some persons have confirmed reservation and others are on waiting list, full refund of fare, less clerkage, shall be admissible for confirmed passengers also provided that the entire ticket is surrendered for cancellation upto 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.

Unused waitlisted or RAC tickets:

Existing rule

Revised  rule

If a Waitlisted/RAC ticket is presented for cancellation, refund of fare shall be admissible after deducting the clerkage.   (i) The ticket is presented for cancellation upto three hours after the actual departure of the train irrespective of the distance.  (ii) The passenger may get the tickets cancelled from any PRS counters or the designated current counters.  (iii) No refund of fare shall be granted o­n RAC ticket /Waitlisted ticket after three hours of the schedule  departure of the train. (iv) In case no current counters are available at journey originating station for night trains leaving between 21.00 hours and 06.00 hours(actual departure , refund shall be admissible at the station within first two hours after the opening of reservation office. (v) In remote and hill areas as identified by the zonal Railways with the prior approval of the General Managers and print in their Time Tables for train leaving between 1900 hours and 0600 hours (actual departure) refund shall be admissible at the station within first two hours after the opening of reservation/booking office, in case there is no reservation counters/booking office/ current counters. Available in that area.

If a Waitlisted/RAC ticket is presented for cancellation, refund of fare shall be admissible after deducting the clerkage.   (i) The ticket is presented for cancellation upto Thirty Minutes before the actual departure of the train irrespective of the distance.  (ii) The passenger may get the tickets cancelled from any PRS counters or the designated current counters.  (iii) No refund of fare shall be granted o­n RAC ticket /Waitlisted ticket after thirty minutes before the schedule  departure of the train. (iv) In case no current counters are available at journey originating station for night trains leaving between 21.00 hours and 06.00 hours(actual departure , refund shall be admissible at the station within first two hours after the opening of reservation office. (v) In remote and hill areas as identified by the zonal Railways with the prior approval of the General Managers and print in their Time Tables for train leaving between 1900 hours and 0600 hours (actual departure) refund shall be admissible at the station within first two hours after the opening of reservation/booking office, in case there is no reservation counters/booking office/ current counters. Available in that area.

Cancellation of e- tickets:

 The e- ticket may be booked and cancelled through internet and the refund of fare shall be credited to the customer’s account after deducting the charges applicable.

In case of a confirmed e-ticket, refund of fare shall be granted in accordance with rule for unused tickets o­n which reservation has been made. In case of RAC e-ticket, refund of fare shall be granted in accordance with rule for unused waitlisted and RAC tickets.

In case of  the waitlisted e-ticket o­n which status of all the passengers is o­n waiting list even after preparation of reservation charts, names of all such passengers booked o­n that  Passenger Name Record (PNR) shall  be dropped from the reservation chart and  refund of fare shall be credited to the customer’s account  after deducting the clerkage.

In case o­n a party e-ticket or a family e-ticket issued for travel of more than o­ne person, some persons have confirmed reservation and others are o­n the list of RAC and waiting list, then in case of passengers o­n RAC or waitlisted not travelling, a certificate has to be obtained from the ticket checking staff to that effect and refund of fare shall be processed online through TDR, indicating the details of the certificate issued by ticket checking staff. 

          

The online TDR shall be filed upto seventy two hours of actual arrival of the train at passenger’s destination and the original certificate issued by the ticket checking staff is to be sent through post to Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The fare shall be refunded by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to the customer’s account after due verification.

In case of e-tickets (confirmed or RAC), if the reservation charts have been   prepared, online TDR is required to be filed for obtaining refund. 

No refund of fare shall be admissible o­n e- ticket having confirmed reservation in case the request for refund is filed online upto four hours before the actual departure of the train.

 No refund of fare shall be admissible on RAC e-tickets in case the request for refund is filed online upto thirty minutes of the actual departure of the train.

  Refund o­n Tatkal  tickets:

No refund of fare shall be admissible on confirmed Tatkal ticket.

 In case of Tatkal ticket o­n waitlist, refund of fare shall be granted in accordance with rule for unused waitlisted or RAC tickets.

 In case o­n a party Tatkal ticket or a family Tatkal ticket issued for travel for more than o­ne person, some persons have confirmed reservation and others are o­n waiting list, full refund of fare, less clerkage, shall be admissible for confirmed passengers also provided that the entire Tatkal ticket is surrendered for cancellation upto Thirty Minutes  before the scheduled departure of the train.

Postponement or preponement of journey o­n a reserved, RAC or waitlisted ticket:

            The postponement or preponement of journey o­n confirmed or RAC or waitlisted ticket shall be allowed in the same class and for the same destination instead of any longer distance or any higher class by the same train or by any other train for any subsequent days,  subject to condition that the ticket is surrendered during the working hours of reservation office and at least forty eight hours before the scheduled departure of the train in which originally booked.

Non-commencement or missing of journey due to late running of trains:

·         No cancellation charge or clerkage shall be levied and full fare shall be refunded to all passengers holding reserved, RAC and waitlisted tickets, if the journey is not undertaken due to late running of the train by more than three hours of the scheduled departure of the train from the station commencing the journey subject to condition that the ticket is surrendered upto the actual departure of the train instead of existing 3/6/12 hours for distance 200 kms/200-500 kms/500 Kms and above after the actual departure of the train.

·         in case of e-tickets, the TDR  is filed o­nline before the actual departure of  the train for availing full refund.

·         In case the ticket is cancelled or surrendered or if the request for refund of fare is filed  o­nline after the actual departure of the train, no refund of fare shall be admissible.

Lost, misplaced, torn or mutilated tickets:

             If the reservation status of a lost, misplaced, torn or mutilated ticket, at the time of receipt of the application for issuance of a duplicate ticket for the purpose of undertaking journey, is confirmed or RAC and that the duplicate ticket is sought before preparation of reservation chart of the concerned train, the station master shall issue a duplicate ticket in lieu of the original ticket o­n payment of  rupees fifty  per passenger in case of second and sleeper class and  rupees o­ne hundred   per passenger for other classes instead of existing clerkage charge. 

Application for refund of Passenger Reservation System (PRS) tickets in other circumstances:      

          For refund of fare under circumstances other than those specified in these rules or under circumstances like ‘bandh’ or agitations or floods,  etc., the passengers could not reach the reservation counter or station or current counters for cancellation of tickets, in those cases, a TDR   shall be issued to the passenger and the passenger may apply for refund of fare within ten days instead existing 90 days from the day of commencement of journey to the Chief Commercial Manager (Refunds) of the railway administration under whose jurisdiction the TDR issuing station comes, enclosing the original TDR. 

The TDR shall be issued o­nly upto three days instead of existing 30 days after the scheduled departure of the train.