Latest news with #NorthernRailways'
Time of India
09-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
NR introduces fully digital healthcare for staff, retirees
Lucknow: In a move towards paperless healthcare, Northern Railways' Lucknow division has introduced a fully digital e-referral system for its employees and pensioners. The initiative leverages UMID (Unique Medical Identification) cards and registered mobile numbers, enabling seamless, transparent, and efficient medical access. A meeting chaired by DRM Sunil Kumar Verma on Wednesday marked rollout of the new system, offering three streamlined treatment pathways: emergency cashless care (for heart attacks, strokes, and accidents), referral-based cashless treatment, and direct hospital visits (with self-payment at CGHS rates). "Notably, pensioners aged 70 and above gain direct OPD access, while cancer patients can avail themselves of preliminary diagnostics at premier institutes like Tata designated hospital in Lucknow now features dedicated help desks and nodal officers to ensure smooth coordination. Referrals are valid nationwide, with SGPGI Lucknow also joining the cashless network," read a statement from PRO of the division.
Hindustan Times
05-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
CBI arrests 2 rail officials for taking bribe in U.P's Sambhal
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested an assistant divisional engineer and his subordinate, a trackman of Northern Railways' Chandausi section in Sambhal district, for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹34,000 from a private contractor to clear pending bills worth over ₹17.57 lakh. Engineer and trackman held for demanding a bribe of ₹ 34,000 to clear ₹ 17.57 lakh dues of contractor. (Sourced) According to a press note issued by the agency on Saturday, the arrested officials were identified as Sanjeev Saxena, assistant divisional engineer, and his subordinate Akash, a trackman. The CBI said they were caught red-handed on Friday night while accepting the bribe at the behest of a contractor, Devendra Singh, who had filed a complaint earlier. Singh, whose Shahjahanpur-based firm was awarded a tender on January 19, 2024, by the Moradabad Division of Northern Railways for railway track fitting, had approached the CBI alleging that the engineer and his aide were demanding a 2% commission on his pending dues. The agency registered a case under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act at its Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) police station in Ghaziabad on Friday, following verification of the complaint. A trap was subsequently laid, leading to the arrests, the press note read. 'Both accused were caught while receiving the bribe amount from the complainant. After overnight interrogation, they were formally arrested on Saturday and produced before the Special Judge, CBI Court No 1, Ghaziabad,' the CBI said.
India Today
06-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
A 140-year-old dream gets fulfilled with Kashmir-Kanyakumari rail link
It was 1884 and Maharaja Pratap Singh of the Jammu and Kashmir state asked his Prime Minister, Diwan Anant Ram, to write a letter to the Government of British India. In the letter he would propose a vision to connect his state to the Raj's rail network in the subcontinent. One of his dreams was fulfilled but was lost to the Partition. Another never moved beyond paper. But the third rail route the Maharaja proposed and even started initial surveys on, has finally come to life today, 141 years Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Chenab and Anji Khad bridges, the long-isolated Kashmir rail line was finally integrated into India's national railway network. It also completed the Maharaja's century-old Singh, the great-grandnephew of Maharaja Pratap Singh and grandson of Maharaja Hari Singh, says, "The railway line project was first envisaged and drawn up during Maharaja Pratap Singh's rule. It is a matter of great pride not only for the people of Jammu and Kashmir but for the entire nation that this dream will be realised by our Prime Minister." The journey to this milestone was arduous, delayed by political upheavals, financial constraints, and formidable geographical challenges. Despite the Maharaja's foresight, colonial hesitations, two world wars, the Partition, stalled much progress on this route, until serious efforts were made in the 1980s under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. advertisementTHE MAHARAJA'S PLAN TO CONNECT KASHMIR BY RAILAlong with his proposal to the British through the Diwan, Maharaja Pratap Singh commissioned British engineers to survey the rugged terrain for a railway route to the Kashmir Valley in the early three routes the Maharaja had proposed were: Abbottabad to Srinagar, which never happened, a Jammu to Srinagar route powered by electric traction, and a Jammu to Sialkot route, which has been lying dysfunctional since Partition and line to Jammu was an extension of the North Western Railway (NWR) from Suchetgarh in Sialkot District (now in Pakistan), unlike the Northern Railways' route used now, via Ludhiana and Pathankot. The Sialkot-Jammu route was declared open in March 1890. But five decades later in 1947, the state of Jammu and Kashmir's first railway line was the momentum of the independence movement picked up, then World War I struck, and before the project could progress, Maharaja Pratap Singh passed the remaining projects, including the Jammu-Srinagar railway line, were put on the back burner, partially also due to financial constraints. Maharaja Pratap Singh, determined to connect Kashmir with the broader Indian railway network, backed multiple ambitious proposals, from a light railway between Jammu and Srinagar to a mono-steel-cableway stretching to Doru Shahabad. However, only the Jammu-Sialkot line materialised in 1890. REVIVING A CENTURY-OLD VISION: THE JAMMU-UDHAMPUR-SRINAGAR RAILWAY PROJECTThe idea was revived nearly nine decades later, when the then prime minister Indira Gandhi laid the foundation stone for the Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar railway line in 1983. By then, Jammu had been reconnected to the Indian Railways through Ludhiana and Pathankot, ending the Indian state's isolation after the Sialkot line was lost to Pakistan following 1983, the project was estimated to cost Rs 50 crore and was expected to be completed in five years. However, in 13 years, only 11 km of the rail line could be constructed, comprising 19 tunnels and 11 bridges, at a cost of Rs 300 the Udhampur-Katra-Baramulla railway project, estimated at Rs 2,500 crore, was taken up under prime ministers HD Deve Gowda and IK Gujral. The construction began in 1997 but faced repeated delays due to challenging geological, topographical, and weather the strategic importance of a railway line to the Valley, it was declared a national project in 2005, the 55-km Jammu-Udhampur section, the first major push into the Himalayan foothills, beyond the Jammu plains, was thrown open. Encircled by the towering Himalayas, the Kashmir Valley has long remained an isolated pocket on India's railway map, with its own standalone rail network disconnected from the national grid. (Image: IndiaRailInfo) Meanwhile, work on the Kashmir Valley railway started in isolation, like an island network disconnected from the rest of the Indian 119-km Baramulla-Srinagar-Anantnag-Qazigund section was completed and made operational in 2009, providing intra-Valley connectivity. However, integration with the broader Indian Railways grid remained elusive as the challenging Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) project progressed July 2014, the Udhampur-Katra section was inaugurated, providing direct rail access to Vaishno Devi pilgrims and marking another crucial step toward linking Kashmir with the rest of wasn't until August 2023, with the opening of the Banihal-Sangaldan section, and then 2024, with the completion of the final Katra-Sangaldan stretch, closing the gap in the Valley's railway with the completion of the engineering marvels -- the Chenab and Anji Khad bridges -- the missing links in the Himalayan route were finally bridged, making the complete integration of the Kashmir rail line with the national network FEATS, CHALLENGES: HOW KASHMIR WAS CONNECTED TO INDIAN RAILWAY NETWORKThe railway line to Kashmir features as many as 38 tunnels and 927 bridges, with the crown jewel being the Chenab Bridge, soaring 359 metres above the riverbed. It stands 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower, earning the title of the world's highest railway arch bridge, officials of the Northern Railways told news agency 215 km of approach roads were built through rugged, terrorism-hit terrain, opening up areas once reachable only by foot or boat. The Anji Bridge is India's first cable-stayed railway bridge, while the Chenab Bridge is the world's highest railway arch bridge, soaring 359 metres above the riverbed. Terrorism also posed serious hurdles to the Kashmir railway project, with several attacks targeting construction sites and workers. In 2004, terrorists attacked a construction site near Anantnag, injuring several such threats, work continued under tight security. The Banihal-Qazigund tunnel, completed in 2013, passed through some of the most sensitive areas, yet the engineers and workers of the Indian Railway Construction International Limited (Ircon) the railway now stretching beyond Srinagar to Baramulla, the much-invoked "duri from Delhi to Kashmir" has finally been bridged with love, and quite literally, by steel and Watch
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Hopes rise for Malwa, as Northern Railway lists Rajpura-Mohali link in 25-26 plan
Bathinda: Northern Railways' decision to include a 24-kilometre rail link between Rajpura and Mohali in its pink book for new lines in 2025-26 have revived hopes of people living at the western end of Punjab's Malwa region — of having a direct rail link to state capital Chandigarh. A sum of Rs 203 crore has been allocated for land acquisition and construction of the rail link. Residents have complained that a strong private transport lobby had been obstructing such a project, which would connect the Abohar-Bathinda line directly to Chandigarh, currently linked only up to Rajpura. Congress MP Dharmavira Gandhi and Union minister of state for railways Ravneet Bittu played significant roles in advancing the project. The project is listed at serial number 458 under the heading "New Lines" in the list of other projects for 2025-26. Although approved in 2017, it was not completed due to various reasons. People from Malwa have accused successive govts of succumbing to the transport lobby and not advocating strongly enough with the railways ministry. When Congress MP Pawan Kumar Bansal, a native of Tapa in Malwa, became railways minister, there were high hopes, but the project still did not come to fruition. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Memperdagangkan CFD Emas dengan salah satu spread terendah? IC Markets Mendaftar Undo Residents from Abohar and Bathinda areas who travel to Chandigarh have had to alight at Rajpura and find alternative transport, such as buses, to reach Chandigarh. Gandhi said, "I approached various authorities, both now and during my last stint as MP from 2014 to 2019, to get this project sanctioned and funds allocated. Now, after many years, the railways have included this project in its pink book for 2025-26 and allocated Rs 202.99 crore for land acquisition and completion. Further details need to be worked out." He added Bittu also played a constructive role in securing final clearance for the project.
