Latest news with #GaribRathExpress
Indian Express
06-08-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Demeaning, disrespectful for poor, middle-class': Amritsar MP objects to name of Garib Rath trains in LS
Asserting that the nomenclature 'Garib Rath', translating to 'poor people's chariot' was against the 'dignity and self-respect of the poor and middle-class people who work hard to fulfil their dreams and aspirations', Congress's Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla Wednesday questioned the railways if they were aware of the 'public sentiment' and if there was any plan to rename these trains. Garib Rath Express trains — operated by the Indian Railways — offer affordable travel with air-conditioned coaches, connecting several cities across states. In his question to the Ministry of Railways, Aujla wrote: 'Whether the (central) government is aware of the increasing public sentiment/appeals to change the name of the Garib Rath Express due to concerns regarding the dignity and self-respect of passengers'. He further asked the ministry: 'Whether the government acknowledges that the term Garib Rath, once symbolic of affordable AC travel, now risks being perceived as patronising and inconsistent with the aspirations of the emerging middle class especially the hardworking population of Amritsar who frequently use this service'. The Amritsar MP further asked: 'Whether there is any proposal to rename the train in a way that better reflects values of empowerment, inclusion and national pride'. Speaking to The Indian Express, Aujla said that he had only tried to convey the on-ground public sentiment on the name of these Express trains. 'The name Garib Rath is disrespectful and demeaning for the poor and middle-class people who work hard to fulfil their aspirations and dreams. They are the primary beneficiaries of this service. Somehow, this terminology is not correct to convey that affordable services are being provided to poor and middle-class people. A delegation also met me to convey their resentment against this name so I decided to raise it in Lok Sabha. The word 'Garib' and 'Rath' do not match and there were several other names which might have been opted for to befittingly convey that these were economical trains to provide AC facility at affordable prices,' the MP said. Responding to Amritsar MP's query, the Ministry of Railways said that there was no plan as of now to rename Garib Rath trains. Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw in his reply said: 'Bharatiya Rail is focussed on providing affordable, good quality services to all sections of society. No requests have been received to rename Garib Rath trains'. The minister further wrote: 'Indian Railways have introduced Vande Bharat services which are semi-high speed trains and are aimed to provide better travel experience and improved safety to the passengers. To provide affordable means of transportation to the low and middle income families, Indian Railways have introduced Amrit Bharat services that are fully non-AC modern trains. Already 14 services are in operation'. Divya Goyal is a Principal Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Punjab. Her interest lies in exploring both news and feature stories, with an effort to reflect human interest at the heart of each piece. She writes on gender issues, education, politics, Sikh diaspora, heritage, the Partition among other subjects. She has also extensively covered issues of minority communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She also explores the legacy of India's partition and distinct stories from both West and East Punjab. She is a gold medalist from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, the most revered government institute for media studies in India, from where she pursued English Journalism (Print). Her research work on 'Role of micro-blogging platform Twitter in content generation in newspapers' had won accolades at IIMC. She had started her career in print journalism with Hindustan Times before switching to The Indian Express in 2012. Her investigative report in 2019 on gender disparity while treating women drug addicts in Punjab won her the Laadli Media Award for Gender Sensitivity in 2020. She won another Laadli for her ground report on the struggle of two girls who ride a boat to reach their school in the border village of Punjab. ... Read More
The Hindu
20-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Hundreds of ICF-made coaches running in special trains to be withdrawn
Hundreds of Integral Coach Factory (ICF) designed coaches running in special trains operated across the railway network will be withdrawn and condemned. According to railway sources, a majority of these coaches were earlier used for operating 62 Garib Rath Express trains on various routes. LHB rakes The production of ICF-designed coaches for Garib Rath trains was stopped last year and replaced with Linke Hoffman Busch (LHB) air-conditioned economy rakes. The old coaches were used to run special trains. However, several complaints were received from senior officials in different Zonal Railways about multiple maintenance issues, including electrical and mechanical problems, and non-availability of spare parts. With increasing number of complaints from the travelling public and railway officials in the recent months, the Railway Board has directed that erstwhile ICF-designed Garib Rath Express coaches be withdrawn from passenger service with immediate effect, the sources said. Read more:Old coaches turn death traps 'Zonal Railways have reported a number of issues in maintenance of electrical and mechanical sub-assemblies of ICF Garib Rath coaches, which include overdue mid-life rehabilitation and difficulty in procurement of spares. It has been decided to discontinue these coaches from passenger service,' a railway official said. About 900 coaches were expected to be withdrawn. Though a policy decision was taken to replace all ICF-designed coaches, most of which are at least 20-years old, hundreds of trains were being operated with the old rakes. In Southern Railway alone, 154 rakes comprising the ICF-designed coaches were still in passenger service on several routes and officials had planned to replace them with LHB rakes by 2028, the sources said.
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Nagpur gets new weekly train to Pune
Nagpur: With the railway board approving the Rewa-Pune weekly Express, Nagpur has gained another train to the western Maharashtra cosmopolitan city. The new train will run every Wednesday from Nagpur, while it will depart from Pune every Thursday. Train no. 20152/20151 will depart from Rewa, passing through Satna, Katni, Jabalpur, Nainpur, Balaghat, Gondia and Nagpur before heading to Pune. The train will cater to passenger traffic on the Rewa-Nagpur and Nagpur-Pune routes. The start date is yet to be announced. The train will have a 20-coach rake with multiple stops. Train 20152 Rewa-Pune Weekly Express will leave Rewa every Wednesday at 6.45am, reach Nagpur at 6.20pm, and arrive in Pune on Thursday at 9.45 am. Train 20151 Pune-Rewa Express will depart Pune every Thursday at 3.15 pm, reaching Nagpur at 5.25 am the next day and Rewa at 5.30pm. The train will also stop at Wardha, Bhusawal, Manmad, Kopargaon, Ahmednagar, and Daund. It will have four general, six sleeper, three AC III tier, three third AC economy, and two second AC coaches. There has always been a demand for a direct train between Nagpur and Pune. Currently, direct trains such as Nagpur-Pune-Nagpur Express, Garib Rath Express, Humsafar and Ajni-Pune AC Spl are operational. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo Additionally, long-distance express trains like Azad Hind Express, Hatia-Pune Express, Maharashtra Express and Pune AC Duronto are also available. However, there is a long waiting list for trains between Nagpur and Pune. Now, after the Nagpur-Pune Express (departing at 6.00pm every Wednesday), another option will be available at 6.20 pm. Although there is only a 20-minute gap between the two trains, it will be beneficial for passengers. While this train will connect Rewa to Pune, it will primarily benefit Nagpur residents. Many people from the Rewa, Katni, Satna and Jabalpur regions come to Nagpur for better medical treatment. Currently, 90% of seats in the Shahdol and Rewa Express are occupied mostly by passengers seeking medical treatment in Nagpur. Thus, this train will have many passengers from Rewa to Nagpur. Although trains from Rewa via Itarsi to Pune are also fully booked, they typically originate from Allahabad, Prayagraj, Danapur or Patna. As there is no possibility of new train on the Itarsi route, the railway has chosen the route via Nainpur, Balaghat, Gondia and Nagpur.
Mint
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Man slams ‘tatkal ticket' booking process, says ‘app crashes, starts buffering'; IRCTC responds
A man recently tried to book a Tatkal train ticket from Delhi to Darbhanga in Bihar using the IRCTC app. But when Sonu Nigam Singh opened the app to make the booking, he was met with a pop-up message that read 'booking hasn't started yet' and asked him to 'try after some time.' What happened over the next three minutes left him completely puzzled. After refreshing the app, the train already showed a waiting list of 41. Singh shared his frustrating experience online, saying that even with a fast internet connection, he was unable to secure a Tatkal ticket. 'Tatkal ticket booking reality,' wrote Singh while sharing two screenshots from the IRCTC app. He added, 'Booking starts at 10 am, Garib Rath Express has 240 seats under Tatkal quota.' He explained that at 10:01 am, a message popped up on the app saying 'booking not started'. 'Then app crashes and starts buffering,' he wrote. 'App responds. Now it shows status as waiting list 41.' It's important to note that Tatkal bookings open at 10:00 am for AC classes (2A/3A/CC/EC/3E), and at 11:00 am for non-AC classes (SL/FC/2S). Screenshots shared by Singh showed the app message: 'Booking not yet started for the selected quota and class. Please try after some time.' Although these screenshots were taken in October 2024, they have now gone viral with over a million views. 'Even with high-speed Internet, it's close to impossible to book a Tatkal ticket. No idea how agents confirm that they will get it done,' Singh added. 'How does it happen remains a mystery,' he further said. After Singh's post gained attention, many people online shared their own experiences. One user claimed that agents use special software to grab tickets instantly. 'There is an app which will give you either a confirmed ticket or a 3x refund. Try that and support this intentional manipulation. Legalising something which is illegal is at play here. And no one's asking the right question,' wrote another user. A third called it a 'big scam', saying, 'Many ticket buyers easily get confirmed tickets from some so-called agents, but when they try to book online or offline, they always face too many problems.' In response, IRCTC released a statement admitting that booking times can take longer during peak hours, especially under the Tatkal quota. The company said that they are working on improving the system for all users. 'During peak booking timings, particularly during Tatkal due to high demand, seat reservations are often filled rapidly due to the high volume of users accessing the system simultaneously. As the system processes multiple requests in real-time, processing may take additional time in case of a high number of parallel requests being processed,' the statement read.
Time of India
23-04-2025
- Time of India
Metal door on track hits freight train; damages rail line
1 2 3 Lucknow: A six-feet-long and three-feet-wide metal door was found on the rail track connecting Lucknow with Sultanpur. The matter came to light after a freight train hit the metal door, which led to damage of several pandrol clips that hold rail with concrete sleeper. The incident happened between Utraitai Junction and Bakkas railway station. Based on the written complaint of Anil Kumar Pandey, senior section engineer PWay Utraitia junction , an FIR was lodged against an unknown person by Sushant Golf City police under railway act 151 and 153. "Around 2.45 am on Tuesday, a cruising freight train hit the metal gate kept on the rail track, this caused damage to rail track, following which several trains were delayed," said the FIR. On Apr 16, Delhi-bound Garib Rath Express narrowly escaped derailment after hitting a mango tree branch kept in the middle of the rail track in Malihabad area of Lucknow. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Complete protection with iPru All-in-one Term Plan ICICI Pru Life Insurance Plan Get Quote Undo Varanasi-Lucknow special train run extended till June end Lucknow division Northern Railway has extended the 04217/04218 Varanasi-Lucknow-Varanasi special train further till June 30. The train would cover 10 stations, and would depart Varanasi at 6.25 am and reach Lucknow by 11.45 am. On the return journey, the train would depart from Lucknow at 4.30 pm and reach Varanasi at 9.50 pm.
