IRFCA Mailing List Archive


Messages 1361 - 1380

From: uucp <uucp@rscbrc.email

Subject:

Date: 11 Dec 1994 05:10:00 -0500


Private sector in India with Foreign Financial Institutes want to invest
in Railway Construction Projects such as New lines, Doubling, Gauge
Conversion, loco maintenance sheds, etc. We have to enter into contracts
spelling out terms and conditions evaluate competitive propsals and/or
options with compable base. We want to copy and enhance if similar
arrangements subsist elsewhere. How do we get INFORMATION and experience
of others? We have to train TOP MANAGEMENT URGENTLY. Please RESPOND.

RK Bhansali | Phone 422 966 (O) 429 587 (R)
Principal | FAX (0265)420 067
Railway Staff College, Vadodara 390 004 | E-Mail rkb@rscbrc.email

From: jayakris <jayakris@saathi.email

Subject: Rajadhani to stop at Palakkad

Date: 21 Dec 1994 23:09:00 -0500


SOURCE : PTI


new delhi, dec 21 (pti) the rajya sabha was assured today
that the rajdhani express between trivandrum and delhi would
soon have a stop at palakkad to cater to the needs of the
people of malabar region of kerala.
the assurance was given by the railway minister, mr. c
k. jaffer sharief, during question hour.
his response came following a supplementary asked by
the muslim league member abdus samad samadani who said that
the malabar region people had not been benefited by the
rajdhani express as it did not stop in any of the stations in
the area.
to another supplementary from mr. s.r. bommai, jd, on
the long standing demand of rail line between karwar and hubli
the minister said that an updated feasibility survey was being
awaited and the same would be sent to the planning commission
for a decision. pti rcr nw
_____________________________________________________________________________
Jayakrishnan.B Email: jk@ncst.email
National Centre for Software Technology Fax : +91 (22) 621 0139
Gulmohar Cross Road No. 9 Phone: +91 (22) 620 1606
Juhu, Bombay 400 049, INDIA Telex: +81 (11) 78260 NCST IN
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Udara Nimitham Bahukrita Vesham "
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: S Pai <Pai>>

Subject: news--Bangladesh to buy locos

Date: 21 Dec 1994 16:30:00 -0500


Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) and Bangladesh Railway
will sign a contract in January for the supply of 10 metre-gauge diesel
locomotives to Bangladesh Railway. The deal is worth about $100 million;
each locomotive costs $9.96 million, apparently less than half the price
of comparable locomotives that can be purchased from the US or Germany which
are the traditional suppliers of locomotives to Bangladesh. This is the
first time that Bangladesh Railway is buying Indian locos.

The locos will be delivered 15 months after the contract is signed. RITES
will guarantee 85% serviceability of each locomotive for 7 years after
delivery.

-Satish

From: jayakris <jayakris@saathi.email

Subject: News Flash - Udyan Derailment

Date: 01 Jan 1995 01:53:00 -0500


SOURCE : PTI


ld derail (atn del/bom)
10 feared dead, dozens hurt
bangalore, dec 31 pti: at least
10 passengers were feared killed and
dozens were injured when four bogies
of the bangalore-bound udyan express
from bombay derailed between
yelahanka and channasandra village on
the city's outskirts this morning.
karnataka igp, mr r ramalingam,
told pti that rescue operations were
in progress. the injured have been
hospitalised.
details are awaited. pti mkv nr sm



B.Jayakrishnan Email: jk@ncst.email
National Centre for Software Technology Fax : +91 (22) 621 0139
Gulmohar Cross Road No. 9 Phone: +91 (22) 620 1606
Juhu, Bombay - 400 049. Telex: +81 (11) 78260 NCST IN
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nothing ruins the truth like stretching it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: S Pai <Pai>>

Subject: Re: News Flash - Udyan Derailment

Date: 31 Dec 1994 13:04:00 -0500


It is sad to hear about the derailment of the Udyan Exp. Are any details
available yet about the cause of the derailment?

Here are some other news snippets from the last few days.

* Konkan Railway progress: IR has re-asserted that goods services will begin
on this by June 1995. They say that 80% of the work is complete in Karnataka
and Maharashtra, and about 85% in Goa. So it looks like it is moving ahead
despite the political wrangling between the chief of the Konkan Railway and
the Union Railway Minister. (The former had even threatened to quit a while
back, over differences with Mr Sharief, and it seemed like the construction of
the railway might be delayed.)

* World Tamil Conference at Thanjavur: Southern Railway will run 51 additional
trains between Dec 31 and Jan 7 between Thiruchirapalli, Thanjavur and
Myladuturai for people attending this conference.

* "Faced with an acute resource crunch, the railways are closing the year
with a shortfall due to poor freight loading performance and rise in input
costs" -- Economic Times, New Delhi.

------------------------------------------------------------

Well, 1994 is drawing to a close (it has already ended for some of our members
in India and further east). This year a lot of new members have joined the
list--we have around 80 people now. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the
list with interesting discussions and information. Keep the articles coming!
I hope the new year sees more traffic on IRFCA and more members joining and
participating in the list.

Happy New Year to all of you!

Regards,

-Satish

From: Vijay Balasubramanian <vbalasub@mail.email

Subject: Info about locos!

Date: 01 Jan 1995 16:55:00 -0500


Hi Folks,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!

It feels great to know that IRFCA's strength has risen to 80, a dramatic
increase, no doubt. In addition, we have a few folks from India providing us
fresh updates. The direct link to the rail-net in India adds another feather
to the cap. Way to go!

My sincere thanks to all of you who provided momemntum to the net through
interesting contributions. Let's hope that the activity increases this year.

A special thanks to Satish for efficiently managing the network and providing
regular updates.

Jayakrishnan writes:
> new delhi, dec 21 (pti) the rajya sabha was assured today
> that the rajdhani express between trivandrum and delhi would
> soon have a stop at palakkad to cater to the needs of the
> people of malabar region of kerala.

Isn't it surprising that the Rajdhani Exp. continues to skip Coimbatore and
halts at Palghat? After all, the former is one of the biggest industrial
cities in Tamilnadu and, IMHO, deserves a Rajdhani-type service.



Chittaranjan - On the Fast Track Again [from an article in the July issue]
--------------------------------------

- The WAG-7 was launched in aug. 1992. During 1992-94, 26 of these
locos. have been manfactured, all in service with the Eastern rly. to haul
4700-tonne trains on graded sections, where only one such loco is being used
in place of two WAG-5 locos. used earlier.

- Due to some problems with the loco. hauling 4700-tonne loads on gradients of
1 in 200, a new version of WAG-7 with higher axle load of 22 tonnes and
modified gear ratio [lowering it, right?] is being developed.

- Two new passenger locos. were to be launched by Aug. 15 [wonder whether this
has happened]. One is the new WAP-4 loco. which would haul 26-coach trains
at a maximum speed of 140 kmph. [Wow!]. These are the passenger versions of
the WAG-7s, and would be provided with the higher horsepower Hitachi tration
motors. With a rating of 5000 HP, these locos would first be put into
service for the north-south route connecting New Delhi with Madras,
Bangalore, etc.

- The north-south route has severely graded sections between Nagpur-Itarsi and
Hoshangabad-Bhopal. Often supporting locos. called bankers are deployed to
haul the trains up the gradients and to provide higher braking power while
they are descending. Obviously, with series production, these WAP-4
locos. will replace the WAP-1 and WAP-3 locos. hauling Rajdhani, Shatabdi
and other superfast trains which will reduce the running times between metro
towns [not until the tracks get upgraded to support 140 kmph. Right now,
Delhi-Agra permits 140 kmph. max. Are other sections being upgraded?]

- For the still heavily graded sections between Bombay V.T. - Pune and Bombay
V.T. - Igatpuri, CLW has designed a loco. with the same 5000 hp. rating.
The new loco. will be called WCM-6, and will be capable of hauling both
passenger abd freight trains with heavier loads and at higher speeds.

- CLW is all set to receive the 30 AC 3-phase locos. from ABB. Some of them
will be supplied fully assembled, some will be in semi-knocked down
condition, and some completely knocked down condition. Although these are
highly sophisticated machines, CLW is confident that it will be able to take
up series production of these 6000 hp. locos. within about two years of
their arrival at the Works.



DLW - High HP Fuel Efficient Locos. [extracted from April issue]
-----------------------------------

- DLW is currently engaged in developing fuel efficient locos and a new breed
of locos optimised for specific requirements of railways operations such as
high hp. high speed passenger and light weight shuttle-cum-shunting locos.

- The fuel efficient locos. will consume 6.7% less fuel than their
predecessors. The high hp. locos wil develop 3100 hp. against 2600
hp. developed by standard WDM2 locos.

- DLW has developed two new designs of locos. optimized for passenger trains
and shuttle/shunting of light weight loads. The former will be a 2300
hp. 20t axle load, Bo-Bo loco. using a 12 cyl. Alco power pack. The latter
is a 1350 hp. 18t axle load, Bo-Bo loco. using a 6 cyl. Alco power pack.

- The high speed passenger loco. is capable of running at speeds upto 140
kmph. It can haul 17 coaches at 100 kmph., 11 coaches at 120 kmph. and 7
coaches at 140 kmph.

[Once the Konkan Rly. is opened for passenger traffic, maybe, we can expect
a Bombay - Goa Shatabdi Exp. hauled by the high speed diesel loco., with a
max. speed of 140 kmph. Note that the tracks can accomodate speeds upto
160 kmph.]



Regards,

Vijay

From: venkatar <venkatar@egr.email

Subject: Re: Info about locos!

Date: 02 Jan 1995 13:31:00 -0500


> Hi Folks,
>
> HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!
>
> halts at Palghat? After all, the former is one of the biggest industrial
> cities in Tamilnadu and, IMHO, deserves a Rajdhani-type service.

Well, Palghat happens to be the divisional HQ, and also the link station
for nearby towns. The calicut-Mangalore line splits here from the Cochin-
Trivandrum main. The move, I guess is political and has nothing to do with
any of the above.


> - The WAG-7 was launched in aug. 1992. During 1992-94, 26 of these
> locos. have been manfactured, all in service with the Eastern rly. to haul
> 4700-tonne trains on graded sections, where only one such loco is being used
> in place of two WAG-5 locos. used earlier.

Surprising. WAG-5s are not exactly wimps.

> - Due to some problems with the loco. hauling 4700-tonne loads on gradients
> of 1 in 200, a new version of WAG-7 with higher axle load of 22 tonnes and
> modified gear ratio [lowering it, right?] is being developed.

Wheel slippage?

> happened]. One is the new WAP-4 loco. which would haul 26-coach trains at
> a maximum speed of 140 kmph. [Wow!].

Wow indeed! WAP3 can do 900 tons (15 coaches) at 130, can WAP4 haul 26
coaches with open windows and doors and all the associated turbulence at 140?

> These are the passanger versions of the WAG-7s, the trains up the gradients
> and to provide higher braking power while they are desceding. Obviously,
> with series production, these WAP-4 locos. will replace the WAP-1 and WAP-3
> locos. hauling Rajdhani, Shatabdi and other superfast trains which will
> reduce the running times between metro towns [not until the tracks get
> upgraded to support 140 kmph. Right now, Delhi-Agra permits 140 kmph. max.
> Are other sections being upgraded?]

What are the chances of seeing speeds above 110 kmph south of Nagpur in the
near future?

> - For the still heavily graded sections between Bombay V.T. - Pune and
> Bombay V.T. - Igatpuri, CLW has designed a loco. with the same 5000
> hp. rating. The new loco. will be called WCM-6, and will be capable of
> hauling both passenger abd freight trains with heavier loads and at higher
> speeds.

It has been a long while since we had a new DC loco.

> - CLW is all set to receive the 30 AC 3-phase locos. from ABB. Some of them
> will be supplied fully assembled, some will be in semi-knocked down
> condition, and some completely knocked down condition. Although these are
> highly sophisticated machines, CLW is confident that it will be able to take
> up series production of these 6000 hp. locos. within about two years of
> their arrival at the Works.

Will these be identical to the prototypes (WAG-6A) from ABB? Will there be a
passenger version of the same?

> DLW - High HP Fuel Efficient Locos. [extracted from April issue]
> -----------------------------------
> fuel than their predecessors.
> The high hp. locos wil develop 3100 hp. against 2600 hp. developed by
> standard WDM2 locos.

Are they mods of the base 16 cyl 251B found in WDM2? Alco supplied 3000hp
version of this engine to Peru and other markets in 70's. Hope the exterior
design is retained.

> - The high speed passenger loco. is capable of running at speeds upto 140
> kmph. It can haul 17 coaches at 100 kmph., 11 coaches at 120 kmph. and 7
> coaches at 140 kmph.

> Regards,
>
> Vijay

Thanks for the excellent info, Vijay.
Happy new year to all.

--------------
Sridhar Shankar

From: Vijay Balasubramanian <vbalasub@mail.email

Subject: Re: Info about locos!

Date: 02 Jan 1995 15:06:00 -0500


> Well, Palghat happens to be the divisional HQ, and also the link station
> for nearby towns. The calicut-Mangalore line splits here from the Cochin-

The split happens at Shoranur, although most of the Trivandrum bound trains
use the bypass (after Ottapalam).

And now, here is some more info. from the April issue in an attempt to answer
Sridhar's queries:

> > - The WAG-7 was launched in aug. 1992. During 1992-94, 26 of these
> > locos. have

> Surprising. WAG-5s are not exactly wimps.

On level sections, due to higher tractive effort the WAG-7 is able to attain
higher balancing speeds as compared to the WAG-5 loco. The high adhesion
WAG-7 loco. is rated at 5000 hp as compared to 3900 hp. WAG-5.

> > - Due to some problems with the loco. hauling 4700-tonne loads on
> > gradients of 1 in 200, a new version of WAG-7 with higher axle load of 22
> > tonnes and modified gear ratio [lowering it, right?] is being developed.

> Wheel slippage?

The gear ratio is being modified to 16:65. This upgraded version of the WAG-7
is under development and the prototype will go into service next year.
Manufacture of WAG-7 loco. involved development of high ahdesion fabricated
bogies with uni-directional mounting of traction motors, arrangements to
reduce the weight transfer and provision of primary and secondary suspension
[would someone explain this sentence in layman language?]

> > happened]. One is the new WAP-4 loco. which would haul 26-coach trains
> > at a maximum speed of 140 kmph. [Wow!].

> Wow indeed! WAP3 can do 900 tons (15 coaches) at 130, can WAP4 haul 26
> coaches with open windows and doors and all the associated turbulence at 140?

I believe the WAP-4s will be used only for the all-AC Rajdhani and Shatabdi
type trains, since other trains are not permitted to go beyond 110 kmph.

Alsthom-designed TAO motor has been a weak link in the reliability of WAP
pasenger locos. While Hitachi traction motors with a rating of 840
hp. against 770 of TAO motors are being provided on freight locos., the
adoption of these motors on WAP loco. was not found feasible due to weight
constraints. Hitachi traction motors not only have higher hp. rating but also
higher higher reliability due to inherent design features. Weight reduction
achieved by design of a lighter underframe, Aluminium foil wound transformer,
and use of Aluminium chequered plate [what is that?] have enabled use of
Hitachi motors in WAP loco. within permissible axle load.

The oscillation trials of WAP with Hitachi motors have since been completed by
RDSO and it is this success that has opened up the development of 5000 hp
passenger loco. which will bring immense benefits including haulage of 26
coaches, better acceleration and elimination of banker loco. on graded
sections.

> What are the chances of seeing speeds above 110 kmph south of Nagpur in the
> near future?

This could happen once a few more Rajdhani-type trains exist south of Nagpur.
In fact, I faintly remember some speculation about a Secunderabad-Vijayawada
Shatabdi Exp. Maybe, they introduced the Satavahana Exp. instead.

> It has been a long while since we had a new DC loco.

In the past, CLW manufactured WCG2 type DC locos. of 4200 hp. The new WCM6
will be fitted with high adhesion bogies with traction motors of
Hitachi-design. These locos. will be equipped with static auxillary converter
and electronic slip-slide and vernier control to improve adhesion in Ghat
sections. The new WCM6 loco. will also be equipped with state-of-the-art
motor starting resistancs for speed control and braking. The control of
braking effort would also be superior due to micro-processor control on the
excitation current.

> > - CLW is all set to receive the 30 AC 3-phase locos. from ABB. Some of
> > them will

> Will these be identical to the prototypes (WAG-6A) from ABB? Will there be a
> passenger version of the same?

The 3-phase AC Drive electric. locos. with GTO (Gate Turn Off) thyristor
3-phase AC drive and microprocessor control are currently state-of-the-art.
The tap changers and the DC tration motors have been weak-links as far as
power rating capabilites, reliability and maintenance requirements are
concerned. The 3-phase asynchronous motors and GTO thyristor are the answer
to these shortcomings.

[Pardon my ignorance, but how are thyristors different from transistors?
Don't thyristors also enable the current to be controlled by gate voltages?]

Vijay

From: Pushkar Apte <apte@spdc.email

Subject: Hello World :-)

Date: 03 Jan 1995 07:20:00 -0500


Hi Folks,

Wish y'all (hey, I'm in Dallas) a Happy New Year.

Vijay has put together a nice profile of the the loco situation
in India, a must-have for all of us train-locos :-). Thanks, Vijay.

And thanks, Satish for presiding over what can only be termed as
tremendous expansion of IRFCA to a total of 80! My only complaint is
that only 10 or so members (if that many) are active contributors.
The "silent majority" needs to speak up. We want to hear your
experiences, thoughts, anecdotes, anything you want to share - IRFCA
can grow only if new ideas are infused! So lets see some lurkers come
out for 1995!

IRFCA started in 1989 with 4 or 5 of us who were unceremoniously
flamed off s.c.i. for initiating highly technical train discussions.
(Vijay, we need to write up a little history of how things got
rolling.) We expected the group to last a few months and then fade
away, but it has exceeded our wildest expectations, has completed 5
fun-filled years, and enters 1995 vibrant & string. The neatest part
is that we now have members from around the world (esp. India) - one
may say that IRFCA is blazing new tracks on the information
super-railway!

Re: locos -

- The WAP-4 seems to be a pretty awesome loco, hauling 24 coaches @ 140
kmph. I wonder when track upgrading to 140 kmph will be completed on
major sections like Bombay-Delhi and Calcutta-Delhi.

- The WCM-6 sounds really interesting, maybe it can make the Deccan
Queen go faster. Its ironic that the Queen has moved backward in
time, making its run in 3:25 vs 2:30 of the good old days!

- The 3-phase ABB locos are supposed to be able to handle AC and DC,
so they should be a big boon for WR, which is saddled with a 100 kmph
max. speed with the WCAM-1 series.

Looking forward to a 140-160 kmph Bombay-Goa Shatabdi!

Regards,
Pushkar
-------

From: jayakris <jayakris@saathi.email

Subject: Suburban Services affected in Bombay

Date: 04 Jan 1995 20:40:00 -0500


SOURCE : PTI

.bombay bom2
Title: trains
bombay, jan 4 (pti) for the second consecutive day,
central railway suburban services were thrown out of gear
following derailment of six bogies of a goods train this
morning at kurla-chunabhatti crossing on the harbour line, a
central railway spokesman said.
train services between kurla and belapur have been
suspended and all suburban trains of central railway were
running half-an-hour behind schedule, he added.
meanwhile, running of trains was still affected on the
kalyan-kasara section, where 8 people were killed yesterday in
a freak mishap due to dislocation of bogies of a goods train
near kasara. pti vkg mb


JK

From: Vadivelu Elumalai <vadi@fcca.email

Subject: Re: Info about locos!

Date: 05 Jan 1995 10:24:00 -0500


> > halts at Palghat? After all, the former is one of the biggest industrial
> > cities in Tamilnadu and, IMHO, deserves a Rajdhani-type service.

> Well, Palghat happens to be the divisional HQ, and also the link station
> for nearby towns. The calicut-Mangalore line splits here from the Cochin-
> Trivandrum main. The move, I guess is political and has nothing to do with
> any of the above.

As Vijay mentioned, it is the Shoranur bypass, not Palghat.

Palghat as a divisional HQ is a joke. Out of seven divisions in SR,
two are in kerala, two in karnataka and three in TN. SR made Palghat as
divisional HQ for political reasons even though Palghat, a meter guage
junction with just three lines is certainly not a nerve center for rail
traffic in that area. Similarly, Mysore as divisional HQ - more pathetic
than Palghat. Instead Mangalore or Hassan deserves to be the divisional HQ
in that area.

One reason for Rajdhani not halting at Coimbatore is, it is 10KM
off the trunk line. Is there any reason for the trunk line not going thru
Coimbatore? The only way to access Coimbatore is thru Irugur/Podanur Jn.

-Vadi (vadi@csi.email

From: S. Kumar <kumar@quandsn.email

Subject: trains at a glance, july 1994

Date: 05 Jan 1995 12:36:00 -0500


Happy New Year to all of you. Just got a copy of the July 1994
trains at a glance; thought I would share some info. (Trains at a
glance is published every July).

1. Declassification of certain trains as "superfast trains". These
include the Bombay-Bhubaneswar Konarak Express, the Guwahati/Howrah-
B'lore/Cochin/T'vandrum Expresses, Ah'bad-Madras Navajivan Express,
Howrah-Jammu Tawi Himgiri Express, NDLS-Guwahati Northeast Express,
and the Delhi-Lumding Brahmaputra Mail.

2. The Howrah-Madras Coromandel express now stops at Balasore and
Cuttack :-(. The new Howrah-Secunderabad Falaknuma Express doesn't
but is NOT classified as superfast! It is however slower than
Coromandel, taking 40 more minutes from Howrah to Vijayawada
southbound and 80 more minutes northbound.

3. The Patna-Cochin express no longer touches Howrah. The Alleppey-
Bokaro Express no longer touches Madras Central.

4. Vijay, there is a Varanasi-Kurla Express in addition to the
Varanasi-Bombay Ratnagiri Express.

5. The NDLS-HWH Airconditioned expresses are now called the "Poorva"
Expresses.

6. There is a second superfast Vaigai express between Madras Egmore
and Madurai.(Why the same name? Has IR run out of names?) This Vaigai
leaves Madras at 6am, stops at Tambaram, Villupuram, Vriddhachalam,
Trichy and Dindigul to reach Madurai at 2.10pm. Leaves Madurai at 1
pm (a different rake) and arrives Mas Egmore at 9.35 pm. A bit slower
than the 1st Vaigai.

7. The railway map attached to the trains-at-a-glance shows:

--future line between Sambalpur and Salagaon in Orissa.
--future line between Singapuram Rd (Vizianagaram-Titlagarh line)
and Koraput (Kottavalasa-Kirandul line) in Orissa.
--future line between Dahod and Indore, Dewas and Maksi, Kolaras
and Gwalior, and Gwalior and Etawah (on the NDLS-HWH line),
basically connecting Dahod with Etawah.
--MG to BG line conversion between Ahmedabad and Jaisalmer via
Jodhpur
--MG to BG line conversion between Mau and Shahganj in UP.


etc. etc.

More later

Kumar

From: S Pai <Pai>>

Subject: a couple of news snippets

Date: 07 Jan 1995 13:47:00 -0500


I just saw a news article that said that the first two locomotives from Asea
Brown-Boveri have been shipped from Dandemong, Victoria (Australia), where the
ABB subsidiary built the 25-tonne car bodies, bogies, and brake equipment, to
Zurich, where they will be fitted with the electrical and electronic equipment
before being finally shipped to India. It will take up till late next year
for all the (33?) locos to be constructed and shipped.

In other news, an agreement has been signed between Iran and India for a $25
million signalling project to be undertaken by IRCON in Iran. There are also
prospects for IR's participation in constructing two or more new railway lines
from the Central Asian region to Iran's ports.

Vijay and others, thanks for the info on the locomotives, it was very
interesting!

-Satish

From: K. Sivakumar <siva@shape.email

Subject: a WWW site for railroad related stuff

Date: 07 Jan 1995 17:02:00 -0500


Hi

Don't know if anyone is aware of this WWW site, I discovered it recently:

The Virtual Railroad's Home Page
URL <A HREF="http://gpu.srv.ualberta.ca/~ybeaudoi/Virtual_Railroad/home.htm">http://gpu.srv.ualberta.ca/~ybeaudoi/Virtual_Railroad/home.htm</A>
(note: it is only .htm not .html)

It has links to lots of railroad related stuff but, unfortunately, nothing
related to Indian Railways in particular. Is there some other site that
I am unaware of, specially for IR?

Thanks,
Siva

From: S Pai <Pai>>

Subject: Re: a WWW site for railroad related stuff

Date: 07 Jan 1995 18:50:00 -0500


One of our former members, Sridhar Venkataraman, had compiled some selections
of the IRFCA archives (informational postings) and also other files related to
IR and made them available on WWW, but since he is no longer at his university
and has left the US, I am not sure whether they are still available on the net
(it was under a subdirectory of his India home page, if you know of that). I
did get hold of a regional railway map that he had scanned in, before he left,
but not the other files.

I am not aware of any other WWW site devoted specifically to Indian Railways.
It sure would be nice to have one... Any volunteers for creating one? :-)

For general rail stuff, the following is pretty good:

The Railroad Home Page
<A HREF="http://www-cse.ucsd.edu/users/bowdidge/railroad/rail-home.html">http://www-cse.ucsd.edu/users/bowdidge/railroad/rail-home.html</A>

It has links to a large number of other railway-related resources, mailing
lists, etc. on the net. (IRFCA is also listed here.)

Regards,

-Satish

From: S Pai <Pai>>

Subject: question on private lines

Date: 08 Jan 1995 13:03:00 -0500


Occasionally I have run across references to some metre-gauge or narrow-gauge
trackage in India that is owned and managed by private companies or by local
(municipal) authorities. There are supposedly about 450-500 km of such tracks
all told. Does anyone have any more information about these? Where are these
lines?

-Satish

From: J.J. Rainbow <J.J.Rainbow@newcastle.email

Subject: Re: question on private lines

Date: 09 Jan 1995 07:13:00 -0500


On Sun, 8 Jan 1995, S Pai wrote:

> Occasionally I have run across references to some metre-gauge or
> narrow-gauge trackage in India that is owned and managed by private
> companies or by local (municipal) authorities. There are supposedly
> about 450-500 km of such tracks all told. Does anyone have any more
> information about these? Where are these lines?

> -Satish

the best source of reference I know for these lines is probably the
various books by Hugh Hughes that I mentioned in my last message in
December. As I understand all lines had to be inspected by the
government before being allowed to open and the reports should be stored
in the India Office Library in London (UK). Presumably if they were
private companies registered on the Stock Exchange then their Annual
Reports will be stored in Companies House and available for inspection.
Not all the lines were narrow/ metre gauge, The Bombay Port Trust Railway
was broad gauge. See also my last message for a history of the Futwah -
Islampur railway. I think many have closed eg the Martin's Light Railway
near Calcutta. many are also on sugar mills or coal mines especially in
Assam

Julian

From: S. Kumar <kumar@quandsn.email

Subject: Re: question on private lines

Date: 09 Jan 1995 09:38:00 -0500


Satish writes:

> Occasionally I have run across references to some metre-gauge or
> narrow-gauge trackage in India that is owned and managed by private
> companies or by local (municipal) authorities. There are supposedly about
> 450-500 km of such tracks all told. Does anyone have any more information
> about these? Where are these lines?

The following lines used to be privately owned:

Ara-Sasaram Light Railway in Bihar
Howrah (Maidan) - Sheikhpura/Amta Light Railway in W. Bengal

I don't know the current status of these lines.

To the best of my knowledge, both of these lines were 2' narrow gauge.

Kumar

From: S Pai <Pai>>

Subject: Fw: question on containers

Date: 09 Jan 1995 11:49:00 -0500


Please post any information to the list or mail to me; I'll collect the
replies and forward them to this person.

Thanks,

-Satish

------- Start of forwarded message -------

From: tardel@rz.email
To: pai
Subject: info on inian railways
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 13:02:17 +0100

I am writing my theses on container transport at the university in Rostock.
Via the india-mailing list I got to know about this address.
I would be very thankful, if I could get information about :

a) container train services for ISO-containers
routes and frequency, transit times
b) flats available with IR for carriage of ISO containers 20 ft and 40 ft
c) No. of TEU's carried on routes in 1993-94; 1992-93; 1991-92; 1990-91

d)container train services about non-ISO rail containers:
routes, frequency and transit times
e) capacities for non-ISO boxes in terms of flats / wagons
f) No of Boxes carried by Indian railways in 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93,1993-94

you can mail the answer to this address, since I get my own account end of
this week.

Yours sincerely

chandrasekhar Rao

------- End of forwarded message -------

From: SKUMAR%RDLV01 <SKUMAR%RDLV01@gmr.email

Subject: Imported locos - personal opinion

Date: 09 Jan 1995 21:03:00 -0500


Re the Locos built in Australia - India can launch a
satellite but it can't build its own high speed
loco? Personally a lot more can be done if railway
R&D is given to private enterprise.
-Sanjay

P.S. Just though I'd give my opinion. My father worked
at RDSO and I know what that office did for new
development!