RAVER

On 30^th May, 2023 at about 09:00 hrs amidst the usual hustle and bustle of the station, Train no 47176 (Lingampalli- Falaknuma Express) arrived Begumpet Railway Station and while the train was moving, Kum Sanitha, RPF, Constable, Begumpet noticed a lady passenger attempting to board the moving train. As the train picked up speed, the passenger was at risk of falling in the gap.

A seemingly ordinary day at Begumpet Railway station turned into an extraordinary display of courage and swift action when a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable, Kum Sanita, rescued a lady passenger in a life-threatening situation as part of "Mission Jeevan Raksha". Displaying exceptional presence of mind, Kum Sanita, RPF, Constable, Begumpet, Secunderabad Division skillfully assessed the situation and swiftly acted and rushed to save passenger’s life and caught hold of her and pulled her out, saving her life. The lady passenger by name Saraswathi was successfully rescued, and a potential tragedy was averted.

Being “citizens in uniform” our personnel go beyond the call of duty risking their own lives to save other lives. There are incidents wherein passengers trying to board/de-board a moving train slip and fall with the risk of coming under the wheels of train. Under mission “Jeevan Raksha” RPF personnel, risking their own lives, saved 02 passengers in the year 2023.

Kum K. Sanitha from Nalgonda District, Telangana State got appointed in Railway Protection Force in the year 2020 and posted at Begumpet Railway Station. During her duty, earlier in many occasions the women constable had raised to occasions doing such good works and assisted passengers in retrieving of missing/leftover luggage.The heroic act of women constable in this life saving act serves as a testament to the dedication and unwavering commitment of RPF personnel in safeguarding the lives of railway passengers, which exemplifies the spirit of Mission Jeevan Raksha. Her selfless actions have not o­nly earned recognition within the department but also the gratitude of the lady passenger whose life she saved.

 RPF, SCR remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of railway passengers and creating awareness about the potential risks associated with boarding or alighting from running trains, with the ultimate goal of preventing accidents and protecting lives. Passengers are encouraged to report any instances of unsafe practices observed at railway stations or o­n trains to the nearest RPF personnel or through Railway Helpline no 139. By working together, we can create a safer Railway environment for everyone.

Shri Arun Kumar Jain, General Manager, South Central Railway congratulated
K. Sanitha for her timely action which led to saving the life of rail passenger. He appreciated the bravery and alertness displayed by her and stated that such action not o­nly enhances the morale of our Railway Protection Force but also encourages other railway staff to undertake such efforts.

दक्षिण à¤ªà¤¶à¥à¤šà¤¿à¤® à¤°à¥‡à¤²à¤µà¥‡ / SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY  
प्रेस à¤µà¤¿à¤œà¥à¤žà¤ªà¥à¤¤à¤¿ / Press Release No. 91 Dt: 23.05.2023

SWR ACHIEVES HIGHEST MOBILITY IMPROVEMENT AMONG ALL ZONES

Indian Railways is termed as the lifeline of the nation. It plays a very important role in keeping the supply chain of essential commodities intact, ensuring timely supplying of raw materials to industries, power plants as well as enabling timely transport of finished goods, food grains and other products

SWR has been making pioneering efforts to enhance railway connectivity in the jurisdiction it serves.

In the last financial year i.e., 2022-23, SWR has made focussed efforts to improve the mobility of trains through various measures. Among all the zones of IR, SWR has achieved a visible improvement in mobility by 53% - the average speed of goods trains (including stabling and yarding) increased from 13.97 kmph in April 2022 to 21.6 kmph in April 2023. This tremendous improvement has been possible through implementation of various works such as:

1.Commissioning of Gadag Byepass in March 2022

The construction of byepass at Gadag saved the time lost in reversal of engines of goods trains coming from Goa/Hubballi towards Vijayapura. This also eliminated the need for goods trains to enter Gadag Jn.  The Hubballi Bye pass, commissioned since Sept 2019 has avoided detention of goods trains while entering Hubballi Station, improved the punctuality of several Mail/Express trains traversing through Hubballi Jn.

2.Highest ever Electrification

In 2022-23, SWR has achieved the highest ever Electrification of 874 RKM. All major routes of SWR are being electrified. This has not o­nly saved Rs.205 Crore o­n diesel expenditure in 2022-23 but also eliminated the need for traction change enroute. 24 trains were converted to electric traction in 2022-23.

3.Highest ever commissioning of Doubling and New Line

In FY 2022-23, SWR achieved the highest ever commissioning of Doubling and New Line of 228.5 km. A record New Line and Doubling was achieved in 2022-23 (228 km). Doubling of critical routes such as Yelahanka - Penukonda (120 Km) and Hubballi - Bengaluru (469 km) also contributed to the improvement of punctuality.

4.Upgradation of sectional speed

Concerted efforts were made to enhance speed by removing the curves and removing the PSRs at 18 locations. o­n 732 km, maximum permissible speed was raised to 110 kmph, and o­n 91.6 km speeds were raised to 100 kmph, and o­n loop lines, the speeds were raised from 10/15 kmph to 30 kmph o­n 437 km over SWR territory.

116 trains have been speeded up in 2022-23 saving a cumulative 2718 minutes. For eg. Rani Chennamma (16589) between Bengaluru and Hubballi used to take about 7.5 hours earlier, but now it takes just 6.5 hours. In 2021-22 Rani Chennamma was speeded up by 39 minutes (end-to-end) and in 2022-23 by 45 minutes.

5.Running of Crack trains

Further with doubling of tracks of Goods trains were run as ‘Cracks’- meaning the trains would run end-to-end without any stoppages in between – thereby achieving a higher average speed, and effectively reducing the transit time. For eg. in 2021-22 we ran 2503 Crack trains and in 2022-23 we ran 6077 Crack trains transporting greater amount of cargo over longer distances in lesser time.

This improved throughput and enhanced section capacity has resulted in better turn-round of goods wagons. This enabled SWR to register its highest ever loading of 46.7 million tonnes, the previous record was in 2007-08 i.e., of 46.24 million tonnes.

General Manager Shri Sanjeev Kishore stated that there is now an unprecedented thrust as well as capital investment o­n augmentation of railway infrastructure in SWR jurisdiction. In the days to come-railway will emerge as a ‘transporter of choice’ for the industry as well as the passengers.

                                                                                                                               Aneesh Hegde
                                                                             Chief Public Relations Officer                                                                                                  South Western Railway, Hubballi