IRFCA Mailing List Archive


Messages 5421 - 5440

From: Jishnu Mukerji <>

Subject: Re: Railway budget highlights!

Date: 03 Mar 1999 07:49:57 -0500


Apurva Bahadur wrote:
>
> The picture I saw was of a WDM 2 being DRIVEN into B'desh. There were
a lot of
> official looking persons standing on the long hood of the loco (the
innaugural
> train has a long hood leading loco !).I don't think the Indian Govt,
would take
> the trouble of actually carrying a WDM 2 by ferry so that a 'peace
train' could be
> worked into Dhaka, how would they get the loco back into India ?
> My guess is B'desh also has converted to BG and a through track exists
to Dhaka.
> Afterall they too want to trade with India and a rail link would be
invaluable.
> Maybe the B'desh website would give more details.

According to the last Thomas Cook timetable that I saw, about a year
old, everything on the East bank of Padma/Jamuna was still MG, and they
had not built a rail bridge across the Padma in its lower reaches yet.
If and when it is built, it will be one of the more spectacular pieces
of engineering and will cost a ton of money, so it is unlikely that it
will happen without fanfare.

BTW, it is not necessary to get rail-linked to Dhaka in order to have a
economically very productive and viable rail link. As I mentioned in my
earlier message, the possible locations of rail links are:

BG:
Bangaon - Petrapole (Calcutta - Jessore - Bagerhat route)
Gede - Darshana (Calcutta - Kushtia route)
From Kushtia the line bifurcates as follows:
1. Faridpur - Goalondo and then ferry to Dhaka
2. Ishurdi (across Sara Bridge) Rajshahi/Santahar
and onto the next possible crossing....
Haldibari (connecting to the North end of the
Ishurdi - Santahar - Saidpur route)

and from a bit of research
MG:
Dinajpur - Barsoi
Lalmanirhat - Cooch Bihar
possibly somewhere near Silchar
possibly somewhere near Agartala to Brhmanbaria

TAFN,

Jishnu.

From: Jishnu Mukerji <>

Subject: Re: Railway budget highlights!

Date: 03 Mar 1999 07:49:57 -0500


Apurva Bahadur wrote:
>
> The picture I saw was of a WDM 2 being DRIVEN into B'desh. There were
a lot of
> official looking persons standing on the long hood of the loco (the
innaugural
> train has a long hood leading loco !).I don't think the Indian Govt,
would take
> the trouble of actually carrying a WDM 2 by ferry so that a 'peace
train' could be
> worked into Dhaka, how would they get the loco back into India ?
> My guess is B'desh also has converted to BG and a through track exists
to Dhaka.
> Afterall they too want to trade with India and a rail link would be
invaluable.
> Maybe the B'desh website would give more details.

According to the last Thomas Cook timetable that I saw, about a year
old, everything on the East bank of Padma/Jamuna was still MG, and they
had not built a rail bridge across the Padma in its lower reaches yet.
If and when it is built, it will be one of the more spectacular pieces
of engineering and will cost a ton of money, so it is unlikely that it
will happen without fanfare.

BTW, it is not necessary to get rail-linked to Dhaka in order to have a
economically very productive and viable rail link. As I mentioned in my
earlier message, the possible locations of rail links are:

BG:
Bangaon - Petrapole (Calcutta - Jessore - Bagerhat route)
Gede - Darshana (Calcutta - Kushtia route)
From Kushtia the line bifurcates as follows:
1. Faridpur - Goalondo and then ferry to Dhaka
2. Ishurdi (across Sara Bridge) Rajshahi/Santahar
and onto the next possible crossing....
Haldibari (connecting to the North end of the
Ishurdi - Santahar - Saidpur route)

and from a bit of research
MG:
Dinajpur - Barsoi
Lalmanirhat - Cooch Bihar
possibly somewhere near Silchar
possibly somewhere near Agartala to Brhmanbaria

TAFN,

Jishnu.

From: Apurva Bahadur <>

Subject: Telco's ad in the TOI

Date: 03 Mar 1999 08:06:56 -0500


Gang !

Telco has an ad in the Times of Indian today which shows a touched up
(obviously !)
picture of their 'Sumo' vehicle towing a long trailer full of logs with
all of its 68
BHP. At the left corner of the picture is a YDM 4 hauling a few Coonoor
- Mettupalayam
coaches down slope. I am very glad Telco wants us to subconsciously
associate the
excellent YDM 4 with their vehicle. A road going YDM 4 - Ha !
Who's idea was it Jayant ? Yours ?
I am sure your loyalty to the IR is much more than that to *****.

Apurva

From: Apurva Bahadur <>

Subject: Re: Trainspotting

Date: 03 Mar 1999 08:27:55 -0500


>
> >Has the GT re-acquired a distinctive livery? If so, I would love to
see your
> >picture. Do all the swarnajayanti trains (except the ADI Raj) have
tri-color
> >rakes - saffron, white and green?

Okay - just to open the 'train on Daboo's book cover' thread once again.
Once IS Anand
(he is the one who took the picture and sent it to JE Daboo) was across
the table I
could convince him that the rake was indeed of the Mysore - Nizamuddin
Swaran Jayanti
Express and not Goa Express. I wonder if I would infringe on anyone's
copy write if I
scanned the cover of that book and put it up on the web so everyone can
have a look ?
The location is platform no 2 (which is too short to accomadate a 18
coach train) at
Pune Jn. Anand in on the footplate of the loco which is backing up to
couple to some
Mumbai bound train 1008 Deccan Express or 7308 Koyna Express. Hence he
has an
excellent vantage point to shoot the blue and white KJM shed WMD 2. As
far as Roger's
earlier observation observation goes about a loco with similar livery
standing in the
background, yes, that is a loco from Erode shed, but then that livery of
the ED shed
is quite common. However on the train the red cream and blue looks
really dramatic.

Apurva

From: Apurva Bahadur <>

Subject: Re: Trainspotting

Date: 03 Mar 1999 08:27:55 -0500


>
> >Has the GT re-acquired a distinctive livery? If so, I would love to
see your
> >picture. Do all the swarnajayanti trains (except the ADI Raj) have
tri-color
> >rakes - saffron, white and green?

Okay - just to open the 'train on Daboo's book cover' thread once again.
Once IS Anand
(he is the one who took the picture and sent it to JE Daboo) was across
the table I
could convince him that the rake was indeed of the Mysore - Nizamuddin
Swaran Jayanti
Express and not Goa Express. I wonder if I would infringe on anyone's
copy write if I
scanned the cover of that book and put it up on the web so everyone can
have a look ?
The location is platform no 2 (which is too short to accomadate a 18
coach train) at
Pune Jn. Anand in on the footplate of the loco which is backing up to
couple to some
Mumbai bound train 1008 Deccan Express or 7308 Koyna Express. Hence he
has an
excellent vantage point to shoot the blue and white KJM shed WMD 2. As
far as Roger's
earlier observation observation goes about a loco with similar livery
standing in the
background, yes, that is a loco from Erode shed, but then that livery of
the ED shed
is quite common. However on the train the red cream and blue looks
really dramatic.

Apurva

From: Shanku Niyogi <>

Subject: Re: Questions from a novice and a new comer

Date: 03 Mar 1999 10:41:14 -0500


Interestingly, I ran into (well, not literally) one of these transferred
WAP6 locomotives, No. 22401, during my visit to the Asansol shed. The
paint
modifications done to the loco are somewhat amusing - while in Baroda,
the
loco had the Baroda WAPx signature, "BRC" with arrowheads above and
below
pointing in opposite directions. The painter has painted over the BRC
and
one arrow (and not done a very good job at it), but left a single arrow,
presumably to turn the shed logo into a cool accent. :)

The recent transfer may be why a lot of common express trains are being
hauled from Asansol to Howrah on WAP6 locos - I later saw and
photographed
WAP6 No. 22402 standing at Howrah, having just come in with the Doon
Express. 22402, however, did not seem to originally have the BRC logo,
and
instead has WAP6 written on the side, with the 6 sloppily handpainted
(presumably overwriting a 4).

Speaking of maintenance of WAMx locos, I was thrilled to see several
immaculate dark blue-and-black WAM2 locos based at Asansol, and even a
fairly well-kept WAM1, No. 20295. Of course, I saw poorly kept ones too.


I will post pictures of all these locos soon. My biggest beef wouldn't
be
the lack of upkeep, but the crime of painting any AC electrics (WAG5s
are
the biggest victim) in the ugly maroon.

-----Original Message-----
From: Joydeep Dutta [mailto:joydeepdutta@hotmail.email
Sent: Sunday, February 28, 1999 8:17 PM
To: anniepoo@netmagic.email
Cc: irfca@cs.email
Subject: Re: Questions from a novice and a new comer


The WAP4 is also a 5000hp locomotive and is a quiet regular performers
on trains like Tamil Nadu Express, G. T. Express, Coal field Express.,
It is actually the passenger version of WAP7.
Again the 5000hp WAP6 locos which were fitted with Mark 4 fabricated
bogies for running at 160km/h on the WR main line developed some
problems in their wheel trucks are now all transferred to the Asansol
shed of E. Railway from Baroda.They are now restricted to run at
105km/h. Indian railways have the bad habit of showing the people only
the good facts and never really is transparent to talk about its
failures and subsequent trials to improve if any. IR still lacks a
cohesive locomotive operating policy. The railway people will simply
disagree but that is a reality. It appears that when a new class
of locos come the older classes are basically denied maintainence. Just
go and see the maintanenace of the WAM1, WAM2, WAM3, and even the
WAM4 on the E. Railway. They look so badly run down.
More later
Joydeep


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>Subject: Re: Questions from a novice and a new comer
>References: <26883ffc.36d9a7ea@aol.email
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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>
>> What is the meaning of the term "tout"? I could not discern it from
the e-
>> mails.
>>
>
>A tout is a person who offers to obtain tickets for you instead of you
yourself
>having to queue. But often such persons are dishonest, and may instead
charge inflated price
>or may bribe ticket seller to allow sales only through them.
>They often also will offer you a taxi ride, only to take you to a hotel

where
>you will be charged extra, and a portion kicked back to the tout.
>
>For the whole list - I've a question - how is it these people actually
make
>a living in this way? It would seem that every Indian has long ago
learned not
>to deal with a tout.
>
>> The railway budget talks about WCAM4 with a horse power of 6000. The
previous
>> WCAM3 was the most powerful; I believe at 5000 HP. How does the WCAM4

compare
>> with the most powerful locos in other countries? What is its weight?
In fact
>> it would be nice to record on the Bharat Vohra web page, the weights
of all
>> the locos. I also would like to know the HP of the WP class and other

team
>> locos such as the YG and YP class.
>
>Currently in the US the most powerful locos are 6000HP. These are
shipping only within
>the last few months. The most powerful locos in common use are the 4400

HP.
>
>>
>> What does WCAM actually stand for? Similarly, what does Y stand for
in the YG
>> and YP? Same question with respect to W in WG and WP. I suppose the P

and G
>> are for passenger and goods. Correct me if I am wrong. I thought the
WP stood
>> for Western Pacific but then was confused by WG.
>
>first letter
>W = broad gage Y = meter gage Z = narrow gage
>
>Second letter(s)
>(none) = steam
>D = Diesel
>C = DC electric
>A = AC electric
>CA = AC/DC electric
>
>third letter
>G = goods
>M = mixed
>P = Passenger
>
>following number is design -
>
>So, a WCAM4 is the fourth broad gage AC/DC mixed freight/passenger
service design
>
>
>>
>> The two large "blinders" in front on the steam locos, like you have
on horses
>> eyes, are a distinct feature of many of the Indian steam locos. Can
any one
>> tell me their purpose?
>
>They're smoke lifters. As the train moves forward, air is trapped
between them and
>the boiler. It escapes upwards, creating an updraft that carries the
smoke away from
>the train for the convenience of the passengers. That's why you usually

see them on
>passenger locos.
>


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From: Shanku Niyogi <>

Subject: Re: on 18233

Date: 03 Mar 1999 10:45:43 -0500


Andal appears to be the place to go if you're in the east for diesel
watching. I also spotted a beautifully painted WDM2 based at Andal, No.
16115 - it is black with white trim, and lightning bolts on the side
with
the insignia "Black Lightning". It was hauling the Danapur-Tata Express.

Shanku

-----Original Message-----
From: Joydeep Dutta [mailto:joydeepdutta@hotmail.email
Sent: Wednesday, January 20, 1999 4:11 AM
To: irfca@cs.email
Subject: on 18233


Dear Friends
Harsh has already forwarded my message that I had spotted the first
WDM2 no 18233 built at DLW and dedicated to the nation by Sri Lal
Bahadur Shastri on 3rd Jan 1964. It is now allocated to Andal Diesel
shed of the Eastern Railway. Interestingly enough the first WDM2 of the
16 series -- ,16000 is also at Andal.
Joydeep

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From: Shanku Niyogi <>

Subject: Re: Trainspotting

Date: 03 Mar 1999 11:00:21 -0500


The GT coaches I saw and filmed were a bicolour of cream and green, and
one
had "Grand Trunk Express" written in fancy letters on the side. The
other
rake I filmed was not in Swarnajayanti colours - it had a similar
bicolour
white and blue, but with a saffron-white-green tricolour stripe running
across the top of the rake from one side, then down diagonally towards
the
bottom, and then across the bottom to the other side.


Shanku

-----Original Message-----
From: Vijay Balasubramanian [mailto:VBalasubramanian@Softrax.email
Sent: Monday, March 01, 1999 10:54 AM
To: Shanku Niyogi; 'irfca@cs.email
Subject: RE: Trainspotting


>
>Took shots of a couple of interesting rakes, including the GT and some
sort
>of 50th anniversary rake that had trims in flag colours - can anyone
>identify this one?
>
>
>Has the GT re-acquired a distinctive livery? If so, I would love to
see
your
>picture. Do all the swarnajayanti trains (except the ADI Raj) have
tri-color
>rakes - saffron, white and green?
>
>Vijay

From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>

Subject: Re: Trainspotting

Date: 03 Mar 1999 11:16:33 -0500


-----Original Message-----
From: Shanku Niyogi [SMTP:shankun@microsoft.email
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 1999 2:00 PM
To: Vijay Balasubramanian; 'irfca@cs.email
Subject: RE: Trainspotting

The GT coaches I saw and filmed were a bicolour of cream and green, and
one
had "Grand Trunk Express" written in fancy letters on the side. The
other
rake I filmed was not in Swarnajayanti colours - it had a similar
bicolour
white and blue, but with a saffron-white-green tricolour stripe running
across the top of the rake from one side, then down diagonally towards
the
bottom, and then across the bottom to the other side.


Shanku


It is heartening to note that distinctive liveries are being selectively
re-introduced. This will definitely make trainspotting much more fun.

The second rake that you snapped up is that of the Model Exhibition
Train (see link below)
<A HREF="http://www.andhratoday.com/whatsup/MOBILEXI.HTM">http://www.andhratoday.com/whatsup/MOBILEXI.HTM</A>

Since you traveled on the Asansol-Patna-MGS route, did you note the
extent of railway electrification on this route? Specifically are
traction masts + catenary already in place in the following sections -
Kiul-Patna and Patna-MGS. I am hoping that the Patna Raj. would not
change to electric traction (in the Howrah-MGS section) before my India
trip sometime this year. I am planning to footplate this Raj. and would
hate to miss out on the WDM2 ride.

Vijay

From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>

Subject: Re: Trainspotting

Date: 03 Mar 1999 11:16:33 -0500


-----Original Message-----
From: Shanku Niyogi [SMTP:shankun@microsoft.email
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 1999 2:00 PM
To: Vijay Balasubramanian; 'irfca@cs.email
Subject: RE: Trainspotting

The GT coaches I saw and filmed were a bicolour of cream and green, and
one
had "Grand Trunk Express" written in fancy letters on the side. The
other
rake I filmed was not in Swarnajayanti colours - it had a similar
bicolour
white and blue, but with a saffron-white-green tricolour stripe running
across the top of the rake from one side, then down diagonally towards
the
bottom, and then across the bottom to the other side.


Shanku


It is heartening to note that distinctive liveries are being selectively
re-introduced. This will definitely make trainspotting much more fun.

The second rake that you snapped up is that of the Model Exhibition
Train (see link below)
<A HREF="http://www.andhratoday.com/whatsup/MOBILEXI.HTM">http://www.andhratoday.com/whatsup/MOBILEXI.HTM</A>

Since you traveled on the Asansol-Patna-MGS route, did you note the
extent of railway electrification on this route? Specifically are
traction masts + catenary already in place in the following sections -
Kiul-Patna and Patna-MGS. I am hoping that the Patna Raj. would not
change to electric traction (in the Howrah-MGS section) before my India
trip sometime this year. I am planning to footplate this Raj. and would
hate to miss out on the WDM2 ride.

Vijay

From: Shanku Niyogi <>

Subject: Re: Railway budget highlights!

Date: 03 Mar 1999 12:06:56 -0500


The Bangabandhu Bridge across the Jamuna, completed last year, carries a
dual gauge track (much pressure was used to change the original design,
which only had a meter-gauge track). There were also projects underway
last
year to build a broad gauge line from Sirajganj to Rajshahi. I'm not
sure
how far these projects have progressed - I'll look into it.

The immmediate primary benefit of completing a broad-gauge link from
India
through Bangladesh and over the Jamuna is not necessarily passenger
traffic
to Dhaka, but to open Chittagong as a possible alternate port to
Calcutta
for Indian goods.

From: Jishnu Mukerji <>

Subject: Re: Railway budget highlights!

Date: 03 Mar 1999 12:55:13 -0500


Shanku Niyogi wrote:
>
> The Bangabandhu Bridge across the Jamuna, completed last year, carries
a
> dual gauge track (much pressure was used to change the original
design,
> which only had a meter-gauge track).

Ahh, good to know about that. What is the location of this bridge? Is it
at Sirajganj or thereabouts? If so, it makes quite a roundabout route
from Calcutta to Dhaka.:-( But at least it is an all rail route for the
first time in history.

> There were also projects underway last
> year to build a broad gauge line from Sirajganj to Rajshahi. I'm not
sure
> how far these projects have progressed - I'll look into it.

Presumably this is a shorter direct link rather than the somewhat longer
one via Ishurdi?

Also, is the English Bazar a.k.a. Malda - Rajshahi one of the crossings
that is being opened up as a BG link?

> The immmediate primary benefit of completing a broad-gauge link from
India
> through Bangladesh and over the Jamuna is not necessarily passenger
traffic
> to Dhaka, but to open Chittagong as a possible alternate port to
Calcutta
> for Indian goods.

Absolutely! It also opens up possibilities beyond Chittagong (or
Tsatigang or some such as the locals would call it).

So is the new BG link going to go through Dhaka - like
Sirajganj - Tangail - Dhaka - Laksham - Chittagong? Or is it going to
bypass Dhaka through Bhairab Bazar - Brahmanberia - Comilla, with a
branch to Dhaka?

As you can tell, I'd be most interested in any details that any of you
can dig up.

Thanks much.

Jishnu.

From: Jishnu Mukerji <>

Subject: Re: Railway budget highlights!

Date: 03 Mar 1999 12:55:13 -0500


Shanku Niyogi wrote:
>
> The Bangabandhu Bridge across the Jamuna, completed last year, carries
a
> dual gauge track (much pressure was used to change the original
design,
> which only had a meter-gauge track).

Ahh, good to know about that. What is the location of this bridge? Is it
at Sirajganj or thereabouts? If so, it makes quite a roundabout route
from Calcutta to Dhaka.:-( But at least it is an all rail route for the
first time in history.

> There were also projects underway last
> year to build a broad gauge line from Sirajganj to Rajshahi. I'm not
sure
> how far these projects have progressed - I'll look into it.

Presumably this is a shorter direct link rather than the somewhat longer
one via Ishurdi?

Also, is the English Bazar a.k.a. Malda - Rajshahi one of the crossings
that is being opened up as a BG link?

> The immmediate primary benefit of completing a broad-gauge link from
India
> through Bangladesh and over the Jamuna is not necessarily passenger
traffic
> to Dhaka, but to open Chittagong as a possible alternate port to
Calcutta
> for Indian goods.

Absolutely! It also opens up possibilities beyond Chittagong (or
Tsatigang or some such as the locals would call it).

So is the new BG link going to go through Dhaka - like
Sirajganj - Tangail - Dhaka - Laksham - Chittagong? Or is it going to
bypass Dhaka through Bhairab Bazar - Brahmanberia - Comilla, with a
branch to Dhaka?

As you can tell, I'd be most interested in any details that any of you
can dig up.

Thanks much.

Jishnu.

From: Vijay Balasubramanian <>

Subject: Rly. budget highlights (comments)

Date: 03 Mar 1999 14:03:27 -0500



> Run of the following trains to be extended :-

> 2407/2408 Nizamuddin - Nagpur Gondwana Express on 2 days a week to
Bhusaval

A weird extension!! The only purpose of this extension is to provide a
direct connection between Delhi and stations on the Wardha-Bhusaval
section such as Badnera and Akola. Bhusaval-Wardha-Nagpur-Itarsi is
about 380 kms. longer than Bhusaval-Khandwa-Itarsi. This train will
take 6.5 - 7 hrs. MORE between Bhusaval and Itarsi than regular express
trains via Khandwa. Do Akola and Badnera have political connections?
Even the superdeluxe has fallen prey to these stations.


>BG services to be provided on gauge conversion :-

>Four pairs of passenger services on Narkatiaganj-Gorakhpur section
>Three pairs of passenger services on Indara - Phephna section

This would provide an alternate route between Mau and Chhapra via
Indara-Phephna-Ballia. Trains such as the Saryu Yamuna Exp. and the
Sabarmati Exp. would not have to go all the way to Bhatni and reverse
directions.


>New Lines

>Approvals obtained

>Ranchi to Koderma via Hazaribagh

This will provide an alternate route between Gaya and Tatanagar via
Barkakana (assuming that the line cuts the Gomoh-Garwa Rd. section at
this station), Ranchi and Muri. Trains such as the Neelanchal Exp. and
Purshottam Exp. can use this route. Hazaribagh Rd. and Koderma are
already connected by the Grand Chord link. Will this result in a third
line? Will Hazaribagh be a different station that Hazaribagh Rd.?


>Dharmavaram to Penukonda via Puttaparthy

Being a Sai devotee, it feels good to know that Puttaparthi would be on
the IR map.


>Chandigarh to Ludhiana

Pushkar emailed me an article on this a while back. Would present an
alternate route between Ambala Cantt and Ludhiana via Chandigarh. They
are planning to extend the teminal facilities at Chandigarh to house
more trains . A couple of these would be from Mumbai / Howrah.


>Gadwal to Raichur

Would create an alternate route between Wadi and Vijayawada via
Raichur-Gadwal-Dronachellam-Nandyal-Guntur. Would also create an
alternate route between Secunderabad and Guntakal via
Gadwal-Raichur-Adoni.




> Gauge Conversion to be completed in 1999-2000

>Mudkhed-Adilabad

The last piece in the creation of an alternate route between Manmad and
Wardha via Aurangabad-Parbhani-Nanded-Mudkhed-Adilabad-Wani-Majri. One
could expect a Mumbai-Howrah Exp. via Aurangabad-Nanded. In fact, once
Gondia-Wadsa-Naghbir-Balharshah(?) is converted to BG, one can bypass
Wardha and Nagpur to meet the SER line at Gondia.


>Railway Electrification Projects included in the Budget 1999-2000

>Mughalsarai-Zafrabad (as the first phase of Mughalsarai-Lucknow via
Sultanpur)

Finally, Varanasi would be on the electrification map. If MGS-Varanasi
is energized first, then quite a few trains from Patna/Gaya could change
locos. at Varanasi instead of MGS (note that Asansol-MGS would already
be energized by that time). Of course, this assumes that Varanasi would
get a loco. shed as well as facilities for transient crew.


Vijay

From: Shanku Niyogi <>

Subject: Re: Railway budget highlights!

Date: 03 Mar 1999 14:09:22 -0500


My brother-in-law works for a Calcutta newspaper, I'll have to ask him
to
check into the details. In the meantime, you can look at more info on
the
Bangabandhu bridge at <A HREF="http://www.citechco.net/jmba/jbhome.html">http://www.citechco.net/jmba/jbhome.html</A>.

The bridge is at Sirajganj, connecting it with Bhuapur on the east. The
Sirajganj-Rajshahi link is not a new one, just an expansion of the
broad-gauge corridor through Ishurdi. On the east side, 90km of
mixed-gauge
track is being built from Bhuapur to Joydevpur (through Tangail), by a
Korean company. At the same time, broad gauge line on the west side has
been
converted to dual gauge (to Parbatipur), so it is still not clear who
will
"win out".

Other work underway includes doubling the line from Tangail to Bhairab
Bazar. I'm not sure about Dhaka to Chittagong, although this seems
essential.

I don't know how much of this work has actually been completed.
Presumably a
Calcutta-Dhaka rail link would be something along the lines of
Sealdah-Petrapol/Benapol-Jessore-Kushtia-Ishurdi-Sirajganj-Tangail-Joyde
vpur
-Dhaka...long, but useful.

From: Jishnu Mukerji <>

Subject: Re: Questions from a novice and a new comer

Date: 03 Mar 1999 14:19:47 -0500


Anne says:
> Someone else says:
> > The railway budget talks about WCAM4 with a horse power of 6000. The
previous
> > WCAM3 was the most powerful; I believe at 5000 HP. How does the
WCAM4 compare
> > with the most powerful locos in other countries? What is its weight?
In fact
> > it would be nice to record on the Bharat Vohra web page, the weights
of all
> > the locos. I also would like to know the HP of the WP class and
other team
> > locos such as the YG and YP class.
>
> Currently in the US the most powerful locos are 6000HP.
> These are shipping only within the last few months.
> The most powerful locos in common use are the 4400 HP.

Well, since we are talking electric locomotives, currently, and for
quite some time (since 1980 I believe) the most powerful locomotives in
the US have been AEM-7s (ASEA/GM-EMD) and ALP-44s (ABB) (Bo-Bo) -
7000HP/125mph, even longer than that (since 1975) the GE E60CPs (Co-Co)
6000HP/90mph, and in a few months it will be the new High-Horsepower
locos (Bo-Bo) from Bombardier/Alstom rated at 8000HP/125mph. All are
high-voltage AC locomotives, many with multi-voltage capability (11.5kV
25Hz?, 12kV 60Hz and 25 kV 60Hz, with automatic switchover capability
across phase gaps.

Here are the stats of these electrics that are extensively used on the
Amtrak North East Corridor:

TYPE ACTIVE SPEED HP WT YEAR BUILDER

E60MA (HEP) 11 90 6000 366,000 1975 GE
E60MA (HEP) 2 90 6000 387,000 1975 GE
AEM7 52 125 7000 201,500 1980-1988 EMD
High HP 15 125 8000 ??? 1999 Bombardier

Additional AEM7-like locos called ALP-44s are operated by New Jersey
Transit (NJT), South-East Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA), and
Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC). Some of the more recent versions of
the ALP44s (the last lot that NJT acquired in the last couple of years)
are microprocessor controlled.

Cheers,

Jishnu.

From: Jishnu Mukerji <>

Subject: Re: Railway budget highlights!

Date: 03 Mar 1999 14:39:34 -0500


Shanku Niyogi wrote:
>
> My brother-in-law works for a Calcutta newspaper, I'll have to ask him
to
> check into the details. In the meantime, you can look at more info on
the
> Bangabandhu bridge at <A HREF="http://www.citechco.net/jmba/jbhome.html">http://www.citechco.net/jmba/jbhome.html</A>.

Neat stuff. Quite impressive - almost 5 Km in total length!

> The bridge is at Sirajganj, connecting it with Bhuapur on the east.
The
> Sirajganj-Rajshahi link is not a new one, just an expansion of the
> broad-gauge corridor through Ishurdi.

Yes, I figured that would be the logical thing.

> On the east side, 90km of mixed-gauge
> track is being built from Bhuapur to Joydevpur (through Tangail), by a
> Korean company. At the same time, broad gauge line on the west side
has been
> converted to dual gauge (to Parbatipur), so it is still not clear who
will
> "win out".
>
> Other work underway includes doubling the line from Tangail to Bhairab
> Bazar. I'm not sure about Dhaka to Chittagong, although this seems
> essential.

Well, for the purposes of carrying Goods from Chittagong to India in the
West in general and Calcutta in particular it would probably be better
to avoid the congestion around Dhaka. The fact that they are expanding
capacity on Tangail - Bhairab bazar would suggest that they probably
want to go Tangail - Bhairab Bazar - Brahmanberia - Comilla - Laksham -
Chittagong.

> I don't know how much of this work has actually been completed.
Presumably a
> Calcutta-Dhaka rail link would be something along the lines of
>
Sealdah-Petrapol/Benapol-Jessore-Kushtia-Ishurdi-Sirajganj-Tangail-Joyde
vpur
> -Dhaka...long, but useful.

So they are not planning to open Gede - Darshana? Calcutta - Gede -
Darshana - Kushtia - Ishurdi would be a considerably shorter than
Calcutta - Benapole/Petrapole - Jessore - Kushtia - Ishurdi. The
pre-partition Darjeeling Mail used to travel that shorter route, and
then onto Haldibari - Siliguri.

BTW, any news on where BR is planning to acquire new rolling stock from
for these new lines?

Thanks,

Jishnu.

From: Jishnu Mukerji <>

Subject: Re: Railway budget highlights!

Date: 03 Mar 1999 14:39:34 -0500


Shanku Niyogi wrote:
>
> My brother-in-law works for a Calcutta newspaper, I'll have to ask him
to
> check into the details. In the meantime, you can look at more info on
the
> Bangabandhu bridge at <A HREF="http://www.citechco.net/jmba/jbhome.html">http://www.citechco.net/jmba/jbhome.html</A>.

Neat stuff. Quite impressive - almost 5 Km in total length!

> The bridge is at Sirajganj, connecting it with Bhuapur on the east.
The
> Sirajganj-Rajshahi link is not a new one, just an expansion of the
> broad-gauge corridor through Ishurdi.

Yes, I figured that would be the logical thing.

> On the east side, 90km of mixed-gauge
> track is being built from Bhuapur to Joydevpur (through Tangail), by a
> Korean company. At the same time, broad gauge line on the west side
has been
> converted to dual gauge (to Parbatipur), so it is still not clear who
will
> "win out".
>
> Other work underway includes doubling the line from Tangail to Bhairab
> Bazar. I'm not sure about Dhaka to Chittagong, although this seems
> essential.

Well, for the purposes of carrying Goods from Chittagong to India in the
West in general and Calcutta in particular it would probably be better
to avoid the congestion around Dhaka. The fact that they are expanding
capacity on Tangail - Bhairab bazar would suggest that they probably
want to go Tangail - Bhairab Bazar - Brahmanberia - Comilla - Laksham -
Chittagong.

> I don't know how much of this work has actually been completed.
Presumably a
> Calcutta-Dhaka rail link would be something along the lines of
>
Sealdah-Petrapol/Benapol-Jessore-Kushtia-Ishurdi-Sirajganj-Tangail-Joyde
vpur
> -Dhaka...long, but useful.

So they are not planning to open Gede - Darshana? Calcutta - Gede -
Darshana - Kushtia - Ishurdi would be a considerably shorter than
Calcutta - Benapole/Petrapole - Jessore - Kushtia - Ishurdi. The
pre-partition Darjeeling Mail used to travel that shorter route, and
then onto Haldibari - Siliguri.

BTW, any news on where BR is planning to acquire new rolling stock from
for these new lines?

Thanks,

Jishnu.

From: Apurva Bahadur <>

Subject: DLW products in Bangladesh

Date: 03 Mar 1999 22:12:58 -0500


> BTW, any news on where BR is planning to acquire new rolling stock
from
> for these new lines?

An older Indian Railway mag showed a flat faced blue loco with a full
width cab
(with two cabs ?) ready in DLW which was for the BR. I am not that sure
of the
coaches, whether those are being made by ICF/ RCF.

Sri Lanka also uses modified WDM 2 (without dynamic brakes ?) but with a
hotel
load tap in the alternator. I would scan this pic when I find the issue.

Apurva

>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jishnu.

From: Apurva Bahadur <>

Subject: DLW products in Bangladesh

Date: 03 Mar 1999 22:12:58 -0500


> BTW, any news on where BR is planning to acquire new rolling stock
from
> for these new lines?

An older Indian Railway mag showed a flat faced blue loco with a full
width cab
(with two cabs ?) ready in DLW which was for the BR. I am not that sure
of the
coaches, whether those are being made by ICF/ RCF.

Sri Lanka also uses modified WDM 2 (without dynamic brakes ?) but with a
hotel
load tap in the alternator. I would scan this pic when I find the issue.

Apurva

>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jishnu.