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Indian Railways’ big achievement towards sanitation; Equips all passenger coaches with bio-toilets
Financial Express July 02, 2021 (India) As many as 73,078 passenger train coaches have been fitted with 2,58,906 bio toilets. Bio-Toilets in Indian Railways: In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mission of Swacch Bharat, Piyush Goyal-led Indian Railways has fulfilled the pledge of bio toilets in passenger trains. According to the national transporter, 100 per cent of passenger coaches have been fitted with bio toilets. This has ensured that no human waste is discharged from coaches of passenger trains on rail tracks. With this effort of the Railway Ministry, around 2,74,000 litres per day of excreta on rail tracks are being avoided. Indian Railway had said that with this move, human waste led corrosion of rails and fittings costing an amount of Rs 400 crore per annum, is also avoided. As many as 73,078 passenger train coaches have been fitted with 2,58,906 bio toilets. Further, the national transporter has planned to supplement the existing system of bio toilet with vaccum flushing system toilet (bio vaccum toilets), which substantially reduces the requirement of water for flushing, while ensuring effective flushing of fecal matter from the pans. According to Indian Railways, bio vaccum toilets have been provided in a total of 1,372 LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) coaches and also, it has been decided to provide bio vaccum toilets in air-conditioned LHB train coaches. Besides, sanctions for 8,500 coaches are also available, Indian Railways said. Earlier, the Railway Ministry had said that the Indian Railways Bio-Toilet project is an innovative and indigenous development of technology. According to the ministry, this technology is a first of its kind, that has been used by any rail road in the world for on-board accelerated digestion of human waste. The bio toilets’ technology has been innovated, designed and developed under the Modi government’s ‘Made in India’ initiative. It has been created jointly by Indian Railways’ engineers and Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) scientists. The adaption and deployment of the bio toilet technology in large scale has been facilitated by collaboration between RDSO, DRDO and Indian Railways’ field units. Source: https://www.financialexpress.com/infrastructure/railways/indian-railways-big-achievement-towards-sanitation-equips-all-passenger-coaches-with-bio-toilets/2282624/
3 years ago
Read MoreWiltshire's recycled railway sleepers a UK first
BBC 28-June-2021 (UK) Railway sleepers made of recycled bottles, food packaging and unwanted plastics have been installed on a mainline railway for the first time. Network Rail said the use of the new materials in Wiltshire will help it to become carbon negative by 2050. The rectangular supports are used to hold up rails and to keep them the correct distance apart and are normally made of concrete or wood. The government has praised the sleeper scheme for its sustainability. The new railway sleepers are designed to be used for 50 years as they do not split, rot or degrade, and can resist water, oil, chemicals and fungi. They were recently installed across Sherrington Viaduct, between Salisbury and Warminster. Government rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: "I am proud to see such a positive innovation being used for the first time on the mainline railway. "Not only are these sleepers made from locally-sourced plastic waste, they need less maintenance and will last longer, underlining our commitment to create a greener, cleaner and more efficient rail network." Network Rail's Wessex route director Mark Killick said: "Use of these recycled sleepers on the Network Rail Wessex route is a first for the overground railway network in Britain." The composite version will have a longer service life and reduced maintenance, Network Rail said. Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-57628901
3 years ago
Read MoreChina’s 1st high-speed Bullet train in Himalayan region reaches close to Indian border in Tibet!
Financial Express June 26, 2021 (India) The inauguration of 435.5 km long section Lhasa-Nyingchi of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway has been done ahead of the centenary celebrations of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) on July 1. On Friday, the first fully electrified bullet train was operationalized by China in the remote Himalayan region of Tibet, connecting Lhasa, which is the provincial capital, and Nyingchi, a Tibetan border town that is strategically located close to the state of Arunachal Pradesh. The inauguration of 435.5 km long section Lhasa-Nyingchi of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway has been done ahead of the centenary celebrations of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) on July 1, a PTI report said. On Friday morning, the electrified railway in Tibet Autonomous Region opened for the first time, linking Lhasa with Nyingchi as on the Himalayan plateau region, “Fuxing” bullet trains enter official operation. The news was reported by state-run Xinhua news agency. After the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the Sichuan-Tibet Railway will be the second railway into Tibet. The railway line will go through the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is known to be one of the world’s most geologically active areas. In the month of November, China’s President Xi Jinping had instructed officials to expedite the new railway project’s construction, saying the new railway line would play a major role in safeguarding the stability of the border. Starting from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, the Sichuan-Tibet Railway will travel through Ya’an and enter Tibet via Qamdo, reducing the travel time from Chengdu to Lhasa to 13 hours from 48 hours. According to the report, Nyingchi is prefecture-level city of Medog, which is located adjacent to the border of Arunachal Pradesh. China claims that the northeastern state of India, Arunachal Pradesh is a part of South Tibet. However, India firmly rejects this claim. The dispute over the India-China border covers the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control. Qian Feng, Director of National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University’s research department, had earlier told Global Times that if a crisis situation occurs at the China-India border, a great convenience will be provided by the railway for China’s delivery of strategic materials. (representational image) Source: https://www.financialexpress.com/infrastructure/railways/chinas-1st-high-speed-bullet-train-in-himalayan-region-reaches-close-to-indian-border-in-tibet/2278144/
3 years ago
Read MoreConstruction Flaws Led to Mexico City Metro Collapse, Independent Inquiry Shows
The New York Times June 16, 2021 (MEXICO) The conclusion, in a preliminary report released by Mexico City’s government, supports the findings of an investigation by The New York Times. MEXICO CITY — Construction errors led to the May collapse of an overpass in Mexico City’s subway system that killed 26 people and injured scores more, according to the preliminary results of an independent investigation released by the city’s government on Wednesday. The report, produced by the Norwegian risk management company DNV, suggests that serious problems with the welding and placement of metal studs, linchpins of the entire structure, directly contributed to the collapse. “We can preliminarily state that the incident was caused by a structural failure,” the report said, citing “deficiencies in the construction process.” The results support the findings of a New York Times investigation that highlighted shoddy construction on the metro line. Some of the studs holding the structure together appeared to have failed because of bad welds, The Times found, a crucial mistake that probably caused the overpass to give way. Engineers consulted by The Times pointed to the presence of ceramic rings, or ferrules, left in place after the welding process, and to irregularly placed studs as evidence of subpar workmanship — findings that were confirmed by the DNV investigation. Its report documented a “failure to remove the protective ceramic” around the studs, which “reduced the area of adhesion” with the concrete that held up the tracks. Too few studs were used to fuse the structure together, and their placement was inconsistent, something that “contradicts the design” of the overpass, the report said, echoing another finding of the Times investigation. The investigators for the DNV also noted that different types of concrete had been used to build the overpass, possibly because workers had to make adjustments on site during construction. On the steel beam underneath the overpass, the report found poorly planned, problematic welding. DNV said its report was based on “the field investigation and the laboratory testing of samples from the accident” and that it “only contains DNV’s hypothesis at this point.” The full investigation will be finished later this year, the company said in a statement. Mexico City’s government, which hired DNV to examine the causes of the crash, is also conducting its own investigation into the accident. “We promised to provide comprehensive care to the victims and to hire a specialized company to understand with technical professionalism and, based on scientific evidence, the root cause of this terrible tragedy,” Claudia Sheinbaum, the mayor of Mexico City, said during the presentation of the DNV report. The results of the independent inquiry could spell trouble for two of Mexico’s most powerful figures: Marcelo Ebrard, the foreign secretary, and Carlos Slim, one of the world’s richest businessmen. Mr. Ebrard, the mayor of Mexico City when the line was built, wanted it completed before he left office in 2012, according to multiple people who worked on the project. He is seen as a powerful contender to succeed President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mexico’s next presidential elections in 2024. In response to the release of the preliminary report, Mr. Ebrard said in a statement that determining the cause of the crash would require both a technical investigation and “an inquiry that reviews the entire decision-making process in the design, layout, supervision and maintenance” of the metro line. Mr. Slim’s conglomerate, Group Carso, built Line 12 — the part of the metro that collapsed — to expand the company into the lucrative rail industry. On Wednesday, Ms. Sheinbaum said she would “contact the companies that were part of the construction consortium that built Line 12 to set up a technical dialogue.” In response to earlier questions from The Times, Antonio Gómez García, chief executive of Group Carso, suggested that maintenance failures may have been to blame for the subway’s collapse. Mr. Ebrard had previously said that it was impossible to know whether his successor had “conducted all of the maintenance” required after large earthquakes. But the preliminary report from DNV found that the tracks and their mechanical components were “in normal conditions” and met with “routine maintenance protocols.” Mexico City metro workers also said they carried out “daily preventive maintenance activities,” according to the report. Investigators will continue to analyze whether the structure was subjected to abnormal weight that could have caused the beams to buckle. Carso is now building a significant part of the Tren Maya, a 950-mile railway intended to bolster the economy of southern Mexico — one of the country’s poorest regions — and stand as Mr. López Obrador’s legacy project. Some engineers and architects working on the Tren Maya have complained of problems similar to those faced when they built the subway: a rushed, disorganized process that has no master plan to guide construction. And Mr. López Obrador has insisted that he wants the Tren Maya to be finished before he leaves office in 2024. Maria Abi-Habib is the bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. She has reported from across South Asia and the Middle East for The New York Times. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/16/world/americas/mexico-city-train-crash.html
3 years ago
Read MoreWashington oil-train derailment
AP June 8, 2021 (SEATTLE) Images -kuow.org Rail union: Sabotage caused Washington oil-train derailment SEATTLE (AP) — A rail union official reportedly told investigators that a fiery oil car train derailment north of Seattle late last year was caused by sabotage. Seven train cars carrying crude oil derailed and five caught fire in Custer, Washington, on Dec. 22, 2020, sending a large plume of black smoke into the sky close to the Canadian border. There were no injuries in the derailment about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Seattle. KUOW reports that an official with the union representing the driver has told authorities the derailment was not an accident. “We know from the FBI investigation, from how trains operate, how trains work, how the couplers work, how the pin lifters work, that this incident was caused without a doubt by sabotage,” Korey McDaniel with the union’s safety team told BNSF Railway investigators, according to a hearing transcript obtained by the station. The incident happened near where two people had been arrested a month before and accused of attempting a terrorist attack on train tracks to disrupt plans for a natural gas pipeline. KUOW reports the cause of the derailment won’t be officially declared until the FBI, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the National Transportation Safety Board finish their inquiries. Two people were on board the 108-car train headed from North Dakota to the Ferndale Refinery, owned by Phillips 66. Source: https://apnews.com/article/wa-state-wire-washington-sabotage-business-9e56918250cd14c46251f9818a1ceed1
3 years ago
Read MoreRussia’s First Female Train Driver
The Moscow Times March 8, 2021 (Russia) Russia’s First Female Train Driver Gets Behind the Wheel Women are entering jobs that were off limits for decades after the Labor Ministry cut its list of banned occupations. Nearly every weekday, Yelena Lysenko-Saltykova puts on her navy blue uniform and gets in the driving carriage of an electric commuter train to ferry passengers between Moscow’s Kievsky Railway Station and the suburb of Novoperedelkino. It’s not something she takes for granted. As the first female suburban light rail train driver in Russia, Lysenko-Saltykova, 25, is one of a small, but growing band of women doing jobs that were off limits for decades until January, when Russia slashed its list of banned occupations from 476 to 100. Source: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/03/08/russias-first-female-train-driver-gets-behind-the-wheel-a73159
3 years ago
Read MoreHydrogen-Powered Trains Have Arrived
The Wall Street journal May 26, 2021 6:38 am ET (US) Railways are using the gas to clean up diesel routes. As predictable customers, they can help bring down the costs of green hydrogen for other sectors. For all the buzz about hydrogen trucks and planes, railways provide the most immediate test case for the rollout of a clean-energy technology that has electrified policy makers and markets alike. Investors got very excited about the potential of hydrogen as a sustainable fuel last year, but have taken a breather in recent months—as they have with other speculative technology themes. The fact remains that, for many industries, so-called green hydrogen produced using renewable power needs about a decade of scaling up and rising carbon prices to make it competitive. Yet that isn’t the case for rail transport. Hydrogen-powered trains built by France’s Alstom have already carried passengers over 110,000 miles on trial operations in Europe. The total lifetime cost of ownership is already comparable for trains running on diesel, hydrogen fuel cells or electrified lines, according to a report by consulting firm Roland Berger. Hydrogen is best seen as a substitute for dirty diesel, still used on about half of Europe’s rails and most in the U.S. The gas is particularly useful on routes that aren’t busy enough to give priority to overhead electrification, but are too long for batteries alone. Alstom’s hydrogen trains are new, but existing diesel ones can also be retrofitted. Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/hydrogen-powered-trains-have-arrived-11622025494
3 years ago
Read MorePanel to look into the death of elephants on rail lines
The Hindu JULY 11, 2021 (INDIA) NGT asks Central Monitoring Committee to handle the issue in coordination with Railways, WII, Tamil Nadu and Kerala The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has tasked a committee constituted by a Union Ministry with looking into the death of wild elephants on the rail tracks that link Tamil Nadu and Kerala through the forest areas of Coimbatore and Palakkad districts. The Central Monitoring Committee, constituted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), is dealing with Project Elephant. The NGT took suo motu cognisance of the death of elephants on the basis of the report, ‘Night, early morning trains cause most elephant deaths,’ published in The Hindu on May 29, 2021. The report said trains that plied between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. had caused the death of seven out of eight elephants on the two lines, A and B, between the Kottekad and Madukkarai stations in the last five years. The Bench, headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, judicial members Justices Sudhir Agarwal, M. Sathyanarayanan and Brijesh Sethi and expert member Nagin Nanda, asked the committee to look into the issue in coordination with the Railways, the Wildlife Institute of India and the States of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/panel-to-look-into-the-death-of-elephants-on-rail-lines/article35260122.ece
3 years ago
Read MoreCoradia iLint: Alstom presents the world's first hydrogen passenger train in Poland
Press releases and news, Alstom 23 Jun 2021 (Poland) 23 June 2021 – The Coradia iLint, world's first hydrogen fuel cell passenger train, manufactured by Alstom, world leader in green and smart mobility, has made its debut on the Railway Research Institute's test track in Żmigród, near Wrocław in Poland. Over two days, Alstom teams are presenting the train to a variety of local stakeholders, including regional operators, transport authorities, government decision-makers and leading media, in order to highlight the potential of the Coradia iLint for sustainable transport in Poland. The showcase comes in the wake of the announcement of Poland’s National Recovery Plan, which includes provisions for the introduction of thirty low-emission trains for Polish regional operators by 2026. Alstom Coradia iLint is the world’s first and only operational passenger train powered by hydrogen fuel cells. This completely emission-free train is quiet and emits only water vapor and condensation. The train features several different innovations: clean energy conversion and efficient energy supply and storage system combined with intelligent energy management. Designed specifically for use on non-electrified lines, it enables clean, sustainable train operations. https://www.alstom.com/press-releases-news/2021/6/coradia-ilint-alstom-presents-worlds-first-hydrogen-passenger-train
3 years ago
Read MoreChina unveils 600 kph maglev train - state media
Reuters July 20, 2021 (China) China unveiled a maglev train capable of a top speed of 600 kph on Tuesday, state media said. The maximum speed would make the train, self-developed by China and manufactured in the coastal city of Qingdao, the fastest ground vehicle globally. Using electro-magnetic force, the maglev train "levitates" above the track with no contact between body and rail. China has been using the technology for almost two decades on a very limited scale. Shanghai has a short maglev line running from one of its airports to town. While there are no inter-city or inter-province maglev lines yet in China that could make good use of the higher speeds, some cities including Shanghai and Chengdu have started to conduct research. At 600 kph, it would only take 2.5 hours to travel from Beijing to Shanghai by train - a journey of more than 1,000 km (620 miles). By comparison, the journey would take 3 hours by plane and 5.5 hours by high-speed rail. Countries from Japan to Germany are also looking to build maglev networks, although high costs and incompatibility with current track infrastructure remain hurdles to rapid development. Source https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-unveils-600-kph-maglev-train-state-media-2021-07-20/
3 years ago
Read MoreOxygen Expresses
The Economic Times Jun 06, 2021, 07:10 PM IST (India) Oxygen Expresses delivered 26,281 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen across 15 states The railway's Oxygen Express trains have delivered 26,281 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen across 15 states, the national transporter said on Sunday. As many as 1,534 tankers have delivered oxygen to 39 cities in the country, it said. While 376 trains have completed their journey and brought relief to various states, six loaded Oxygen Express are currently on the run with more than 483 tonnes of LMO in 26 tankers. Southern states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka received more than 3,000 tonnes of oxygen each from the Oxygen Express. It offloaded more than 2,800 tonnes of the gas in Andhra Pradesh. Oxygen Express trains started their deliveries 43 days back on April 24 in Maharashtra with a load of 126 tonnes. Relief by these trains reached out to 15 states namely Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Telangana, Punjab, Kerala, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Assam. Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/railways/oxygen-expresses-delivered-26281-tonnes-of-liquid-medical-oxygen-across-15-states/articleshow/83282997.cms?from=mdr
3 years ago
Read MoreTrans-Iranian Railway gains UNESCO World Heritage status
Tehran Times July 25, 2021(Iran) TEHRAN – Trans-Iranian Railway that reaches a length of 1400 km has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. The UN body accepted Trans-Iranian Railway during the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee, which will be running through July 31 in China’s Fuzhou. The railway can be regarded as a turning point for comprehensive developments in Iran. These developments include a wide spectrum of various economical, commercial, social, cultural, and even political aspects in a sensitive and important period of contemporary world history. Under the Pahlavi regime, the process of moving towards modernism gained momentum and the railway became the main pedestal of development in Iran. Consequently, the 1394 kilometers long Trans-Iranian Railway was built with a width of 1435mm and 90 working stations along its route. It starts at a point north of Torkaman port located southeast of the Caspian Sea. After going through Sari and Qaem-Shahr cities, the railway enters the mountainous region of Alborz through the high Firooz-kooh Pass which is linked with Tehran and Varamin Plain by numerous bridges and tunnels. Further on after crossing the flatlands of Qom and Arak, the Trans-Iranian Railway penetrates Zagros highlands in Lorestan Province and passing through a large number of tunnels and bridges reaches Andimeshk situated in the low Kuzestan Plain. Finally extending to the vicinity of Dezful, Ahwaz, and its grand bridge on Karoon, the Trans-Iranian Railway is divided into two branches ending separately at Khoram-Shahr and Imam-Khomeini ports on the Persian Gulf. AFM Source https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/463393/Trans-Iranian-Railway-gains-UNESCO-World-Heritage-status
3 years ago
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