Metro Ride in Kolkata

Have you ever enjoyed a tide in the metro rail at Kolkata (previously called Calcutta) in the eastern state of West Bengal? If not you have missed something in life! Visit Kolkata soon and explore the pleasure already enjoyed by the teaming millions. Are you ardent to know more- about the metro railways in Kolkata? Read on…

A Brief Overveiw of the Kolkata Metro Railway: The city of Kolkata boasts of the metro rail network in the undergrounds. The metro railway way of Kolkata has achieved the status of zonal railways. The operations started in 1984. In those days the metro railway in Kolkata used to ply between Esplanade and Bhowanipur. With the passage of time the metro railways started growing in length (well literally). Now, the expansion of the metro railways is between Dumdum (in north of Kolkata) and Garia (in the southern fringe of the city). There are plans of constructing the metro railways between the eastern and western parts of the city.

The idea to build underground railway station was conceived in 1949 by the Late Bidhan Chadra Roy (a noted political figure and reformer). In that time the coaches had ordinary revolving gates. The first metro coach was flagged off from Esplanade to Bhowanipur (now Netaji Bhavan) carrying eminent personalities under the ministership of Abu Barkat Ataur Ghani Khan Choudhury. He served as the Railway Minister between 1982 and 1989. In 1986, the line was extended in the southern end till Tollygunj (now Mahanayak Uttam Kumar). The modernization and maintenance of the metros have been hindered at regular intervals due to political events post 1986.

However, as the years passed by the popularity of the metro rails in Kolkata grew phenomenally. Hence, the number of coaches grew with time. Recently, air conditioned coaches have also been introduced. The numbers of trains have been increased. In the office hours the trains ply more frequently compared to the lean hours. The weekdays see more footfall in the metro and therefore the frequency of the trains are higher than the holidays.

Initially manual tickets were sold at the ticket counters. Then the magnetic tickets were introduced to help the metro staff track the errant riders. The gates accepted the magnetic tickets with certain built in checking process. The systems of package rides were introduced. Individuals could purchase tickets and use it for many rides within the stipulated period. Now, there are escalators to provide additional comforts to the metro users.

The stations of the metro railways were previously names according to the locations. In the recent times Madam Mamata Banerjee of Trinamul Congress (who is also the railway minister) has renamed these stations paying ode to the famous personalities of the yesteryears who had made a difference to the country, and especially Bengal.

MAIN FEATURES OF THE METRO RAIL (IN KOLKATA):

The metro systems in Kolkata are complex and imbibe applications of many new technologies. The engineers who are employed to maintain the same have personal expertise and foreign qualifications and experiences. These seasoned and well-trained professionals maintain the metro railways with vim and vigor making use of may new technologies.

• Cut and cover process have been followed in the city making use of the diaphragm walls.
• Shield Tunneling used compressed air as well as airlocks were used.
• The stations are air conditioned. Ventilation system is maintained to control the environment of the stations.
• Transformers (dry categories) and circuit breakers are used.
• Some stations controlled trains by making use of micro-processors.
• Introduction of automatic ticketing systems are on cards.

METRO COACHES EXCLUSIVELY FOR WOMEN:

In the recent times there had been an effort to introduce women’s special coaches in the Kolkata Metro. This did not work out. During the rush hours it was not convenient for people to find which coach was allocated only for the women- leading to unwanted incidents. Also, the men felt it was unfair that the women could get up in any coach as per their preferences, while they had to avoid some coaches. There was also loss of time in searching and getting into or avoiding these coaches. Families found it difficult as the women had to get up in separate coach and the men in others. Boys as young as 10 or 12 years were asked not to board these coaches, separating them from their mothers. It was inevitable that these coaches approach did not work out well.

BENEFITS OF RIDING THE METRO RAILWAYS IN KOLKATA:

• It utilizes one-fifth energy to carry each passenger when compared to other road based transportation systems.
• It generates less noise, nil air pollution and is an environment friendly transportation system.
• It does not occupy any road space in the areas where it is underground.
• In the zones where metro plies above ground, it is usually located on elevated land.
• It is more comfortable, safe and reliable compared to the other transportation systems of the city.
• It generally maintains time.
• Journey is fast and saves time.

THE KOLKATA METRO RAILWAYS PROVIDE:

Better Connectivity: People can travel from Tollygunj to Dumdum (a distance of kilometers) in less than half an hour. Can you imagine such facilities in any of the road transport facilities?

Train Timings: The metro railways in Kolkata maintain proper timings in general. There are trains at frequent intervals so ease out the commute for the users of the metro.

Basic Comfort: Yes, metro railways do provide a lot of comfort but barring the peak hours. If you are riding the metro for pleasure, endure that you do so in the lean hours or holidays.

DEATH TRAP:

It is unfortunate that many people are choosing the metros tracks in Kolkata to end the woes and miseries of their lives. The smooth plying of the rails is hampered on those fateful days when such an incident occurs. Commuters are delayed in their journeys to their destinations which is not at all a good sign. This should come to an end. The high officials of Metro should adopt strict measures to avert such attempts.

Can Budget 2011 strike a balance between supply and demand?

Its February again, time for the Union Budget! As per Article 112 of the Indian Constitution, the Union Budget of India, that is the annual budget of the country, is also known as the Annual Financial Statement. The budget is required to be approved and passed by the Parliament prior to its coming into existence on 1^st of April, which happens to be the beginning of India’s financial year. Like every other year, the Union Finance Minister of India, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee will present the budget for the year 2011, on the last working day of the month of February

Although, the crucial budget document is prepared in complete privacy, yet each one of us is definitely interested to get an overview about the whole process and have an idea of the India Budget Expectations 2011. Some of you might also have started anticipating India’s Budget Results, 2011; isn’t it? Can Budget 2011 strike a balance between supply and demand? Let’s see!

There could be several reasons and thought processes that goes beyond our expectations from the Union Budget for 2011! Economic growth and development has been noticed in various sectors following the many proposals and initiatives mentioned in the Union Budget of India in the financial year of 2010-11, for the year 2010. This year the budget expectations are quite high unlike few years back, wherein the country’s economy was still reeling under the economic depression that was created by the economic meltdown, globally. Since the Indian Economy is slowly getting back to its track, it can be expected that the budget will bring something beneficial to us. It is being expected that this time, the budget would lay stress on controlling price hikes, controlling the inflation rate, cutting down on fiscal deficit etc.

Straightening up of the PDS and do away with the outflows!

In order to achieve and all-round development of the country and its people, the government should ensure that everyone has access to the essential and the very fundamentals of life such as health, food, education, infrastructure, and security. This calls for the growth and development of the skills in the country. The government has taken up several measures on this front such as the formation of the National Skill Development Co-ordination Board, Skill Development Mission, and NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act); now the need however is to ensure the effective and proper realization of the plans. Social welfare must count as the first priority for the Government, always.

Inflation – An intense and a burning reality!

Inflation is everywhere! So it’s quite possible that we gate to see its mention in several policy decisions in order to initiate some corrective measures. It could be anything from the usage of sophisticated techniques of farming, to monetary policy or even the budgetary policies that are framed to control the augmented pricing pressures.

As the Government commits towards the controlling of food inflation, the Finance Minister of India might be expected to unleash some of the major measures in the Budget 2011. This might include the opening of distribution and procurement centers for food grains, promote more investment in agri infrastructure, increase the expenditure on irrigation to enhance the overall productivity of the farm sector.

Simplification and Systematization of the Tax System!

Pranab Mukherjee has really done a good job by extending the tax slabs. This has helped people, specially the salaried persons immensely. The high limit of tax-exemption also has brought extra tax revenues for the exchequer since it doesn’t encourage the suppressing of the unaccounted money. There is still a possibility of improvement at the lower end income group, on the present no-tax limit for up to income of Rs.1.6 lakh.

The deadlock on GST (Goods and Service Tax) should not be extended any further by the Government of India. The Government should rather take initiatives to introduce the new tax system from 1^st April, 2012. This would allow the current players to plan their ventures thereby including the cost of operation. It is highly recommended that the Government should cut down on CST that is the Central Sales Tax rate should be cut down to minimum 1% with effect from April 1, 2011.

Deregulation of the Fuel price!

Last year, the price of petrol was deregulated by the UPA government in order to shrink the fiscal deficit of the country, thereby helping the oil marketing companies to reduce their losses on the selling of fuel at subsidized rates.

Is the Government now thinking of deregulating the price of diesel now that constitutes a major share of fuel subsidy bills?

Retail FDI – Tighten Supply Chain!

The recent increase in the price of food has been the result of hoarding up of stock by the intermediaries or because of the supply shortage in the farm production. In order to manipulate the price, FDI can definitely support the government to de-bottleneck the chain of supply that is hindered by the not so effective distribution channel.

Focus on Infrastructure Growth!

A sustained infrastructural growth and development is essential in order to provide that momentum to India’s economic activities, thereby achieving optimum utilization of resources. In order to promote the joint ventures of the public and the private sector and the entry of FDI or Foreign Direct Investment into the infrastructural domain, an appropriate, genuine, organizational, and reliable model must be introduced. The Government should aim at increasing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It should take initiatives to plan and develop large amount of corpus for a long term towards the development of infrastructure by the use of debt funds.

Cut down on Excise and Service Tax!

Last year, the excise duty was raised to 10% by the Government, on the non-oil products for withdrawing stimulus, thereby creating sources for the funds that would cut down on the extensity of the fiscal deficit condition. Owing to inflation and rising cost of commodities, India should try and cut down on the Service tax and the excise duty. Corporate tax rates should also be brought down.

Education – Learn as you grow!

Education and Growth can be said to be the two sides of the same coin! While Education results in higher employment, this is turn paves the way for growth and development of the country. In the past few years, the education sector has witnessed several reform measures both at higher as well as primary level of education.

The implementation of the PPP model that is the public-private partnership model can prove very beneficial for the education sector and help in bringing success and sustainable momentum in the long run. The Government needs to fund the projects and encourage and trust the private sector for the final delivery of the models.

Agriculture!

For ensuring the economic growth and development of the country, it is important that India’s agriculture sector grows at a fast pace. Many people in the country still suffer from food insecurity and malnutrition. The Indian Government of India already undertook the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) in the year 2008 but it was not properly supported. The Government should now take the responsibility to support the mission properly for eradicating the malnutrition from the nation. One of the best possible ways would be to combine the mission with other flagship projects such as NREGA etc for reliving the underprivileged people in India, especially those in villages, from nutrition problems.

Since agriculture contributes immensely to the GDP of India, the Government, this year is expected to focus on the problem of rising prices. Higher should be the aim of the government. Favorable policies in the agro input sector, etc would surely help in utilizing the business potentials, in the future.

Indian Railways!

Couple of years back, India’s Railway Department had managed to bring around a good financial turnaround without any hike in the passenger fares. But this year, estimates say that the Indian Railways might miss out on the target for the year 2010-11. In the year 2010, Railways incurred a huge loss of Rs. 4000 crore. This was mainly because of the negative impacts on freight earnings and the setback on passenger earnings owing to the Naxal activities in several states of India.

The question that crops up in this situation is that will India’s Railway Department suffer a setback this time?

Information Technology!

The IT industry in India has shown amazing resilience during the period of recession.  The demand for the IT Services exports is being expected to go on with countries like Europe and US recovering and also due to the increase in discretionary that the consumers spend on IT infrastructure. As per the reports by NASSCOM, it is expected that the exports would dominate the IT industry in India that comes to about USD 59 billion out of USD 76 billion in the software industry.

However, there are certain concerns and fear as well for the IT sector such as slower recovery that the developed markets of US etc, high wage inflation and attrition, pricing pressure owing to competition in the domestic markets and protectionist stance on the part of the Government of US etc. With such a scenario in the backdrop the IT industry must be eagerly awaiting for the proposal in the budget, by the Government.

Construction!

Construction & Infrastructure contributes to about 8-10% in the GDP of India. For an overall development of the country, the importance and role of infrastructure is not unknown to us. However, a big gap has been created in the targets that have been set up for the infrastructure industry and the achievements. This has been due to the slow functioning of the several related sectors, shortfall in the awarding projects, funding potential shortfalls, time and cost overruns in the construction phase etc. Government should now start addressing these problems in the Construction and Infrastructure industry. This year, as per the signals from the Finance Minister, the infrastructure sector is expected to restrict itself from its expectations on tax relief and tax breaks, thereby focusing on how to raise capital and engage in project development.

FMCG!

The FMCG sector saw a series of new launches as well as acquisitions in the year 2010, which contributed phenomenally to the sector with a growth of about 15%. The GDP growth was estimated to be 8.75% in FY11. Hence the sector is expected to continue this way, although it will be faced with several challenges such as irregular monsoon and inflation. After the harvest of the Rabi crop, we can expect the situation to get reversed. With a shift in demand from need to want, it is being expected that the categories associated with home care and personal care would grow at a rate of 15% and 20% correspondingly, in CY11.

Telecom Services & Equipments!

At the moment, the telecom industry in India is characterized by high operating cost, stagnant revenue, huge debt, dwindling earnings, regulatory uncertainty etc. There has been a very slow revenue growth at about 0.4%. The launch of 3G and MNP might act as the immediate momentum. With key metrics declining at an abating rate, it is expected that the telecom sector would do better in FY12E in comparison to FY11E. Companies having foreign market exposure might experience higher growth. During FY12, while the telecom stocks may stay subdued, but at the end of FY12E we might witness the narrowing down of discounts in the broader markets.

Indian Railways: A Historical Legacy!

Railway Network in India

A historical legacy, Indian Railways serves as a vital force in the Indian Economy. For bulk movement of commodities and traveling long distances, Railways are the ideal medium of transport. With the first train that ran on 16^th of April 1853, from Bombay to Thane, there was no looking back for the railways in India. The train from Bombay to Thane covered a distance of twenty one miles, carrying about 400 people. Most important is the fact that although Indian Railways were mainly introduced in order to make possible the many commercial interests and needs of the British, yet the railways played a significant role in unifying the people and therefore the country.

Serving as Asia’s largest railway network and also among the largest in the world, Railways in India, is replete with more than 37, 840 coaching vehicles, 222,147 freight wagons, 7566 locomotives, 6909 stations, 2300 good sheds, 700 repair shops, 300 yards, and 1.6 million work force. Everyday about 11,000 trains are operated by the Indian Railways among which there are 9,000 passenger trains. The rail network in India has a track of more than 64,015 km. More than twenty million passengers and a freight of over two million tons are carried by the Indian Railways everyday. With over 1.6 million employees, it is among the largest utility employers in the world.

This state owned company is looked after and controlled by the “Ministry of Railways” under the Government of India. At present the Union Ministry for Railways is Mamata Banerjee, who heads the Railway Ministry of India. After its commencement in the year 1853, Indian had 42 rail systems by the year 1947. The year 1951 saw the nationalization of the railways into 1 unit, thereby making it one of world’s largest rail networks. Coach production and locomotive facilities are also there. Both suburban rails as well as long distance railways are operated by the railway system in India. The cities of Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, and Lucknow are having suburban networks while in case of Hyderabad and Pune there are long distance railway trains.

The Indian Railway is headquartered in New Delhi, India. India’s 1^st rail station, which is also a World Heritage Site, is the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai, India. Indian Railways can be divided into several zones for the administrative ease. The year 1952 witnessed the increase in zones from 6 in 1951 to 8. Since 2003 till present, there are 16 zones.

1. Central Railway (with Headquarters at Mumbai CST)
2. Northern Railway (with Headquarters at New Delhi)
3. North East Frontier Railway (with Headquarters at Maligaon, Guwahati)
4. North Eastern Railway (with Headquarters at Gorakhpur)
5. Eastern Railway (with Headquarters at Kolkata)
6. East Central Railway (with Headquarters at Hajipur)
7. South Central Railway (with Headquarters at Secunderabad)
8. South Western Railway (with Headquarters at Hubli)
9. South East Central Railway (with Headquarters at Bilaspur)
10. Southern Railway (with Headquarters at Chennai)
11. East Coast Railway (with Headquarters at Bhubaneswar)
12. North Western Railway (with Headquarters at Jaipur)
13. North Central Railway (with Headquarters at Allahabad)
14. West Central Railway (with Headquarters at Jabalpur)
15. Western Railway (with Headquarters at Church Gate, Mumbai)
16. South Eastern Railway (with Headquarters at Kolkata)

Each of the sixteen zones is headed by a General Manager (GM) who reports directly to the Railway Board. The zones are further categorized into divisions, each division consisting of a divisional headquarters, headed by Divisional Railway Managers or DRM. There are about 67 divisions.

There are 9 undertakings or subsidiaries of the Ministry of Railways in India.

• Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC)
• Rail India Technical & Economic Services Limited (RITES)
• Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited (IRFC)
• Indian Railway Construction (IRCON) International Limited
• Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL)
• Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR)
• Mumbai Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (MRVNL)
• Railtel Corporation of India Ltd. (Rail Tel)
• Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL)

Of these several undertakings, one that needs special mention is the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, popularly known as IRCTC. The online ticketing, tourism and catering of the railways, all across India, is taken care of, by this subsidiary.

IRCTC is well-known and more popular for having changed the face of ticketing for Indian Railways. It pioneered the system of online booking of tickets through internet or phones (GPRS, SMS), on its website. The facility for cancellations or modification of tickets, are also provide by the website of IRCTC. Again, apart from E-tickets, I- tickets, i.e. tickets booked online and send via posts, are also offered by IRCTC. Recently, the PNR status of tickets can also be checked here by the passengers.

“Shubh Yatra”, a loyalty program, has been launched by IRCTC, for those traveling frequently. Availing this facility one is entitled to discounts on every ticket that is being booked throughout the year, against the payment of an affordable and cheap amount of annual fee.

Various kinds of deluxe and budget tour packages are offered by IRCTC, both for its foreign and domestic travelers. One such popular budget tourism package is “Bharat Darshan” that covers the entire major tourist destination in India. Luxurious tourism packages can also be availed, which involves journey in luxury trains like Palace on Wheels, Golden Chariot, Deccan Odyssey, Royal Orient Express, Royal Rajasthan on Wheels and Buddhist Circuit Train.

Apart from these, other attractions are the various adventurous tourism packages offered by IRCTC, such as water sports, wildlife treks, etc. There is also a proviso for customizing the tours according to one’s requirements.

Owing to such varied and attractive features and services offered by the IRCTC, it has been credited with several awards and achievements such as

• National Tourism Award of Excellence by the Ministry of Tourism under the Government of India
• National Award for E-Governance, by the IT Department of Government of India and Haryana in the year
• Genius of the Web Award, 2007 by CNBC, for “Best E-Governance PSU Site”
• National award for E-Governance in 2007-2008, for being the “Best Citizen Centric Application”
• Path Breaker Award in the year 2003 and 2004 by Dataquest

Railways in India- Bottlenecks

Indian Railways lack the required financial and budgetary support necessary for the modernization of railways. For instance, to prevent crashes, the need for automated signaling system is missing. Compared to the facilities and services offered by air travel in India, the railways in India is facing a steep competition and also loosing its popularity among the higher class of travelers. Some of the other problems that have been identified in case of Indian Railways are high accident rates that include collisions, derailment, run over etc.

Indian Railways- Developments

The railways in India is among the most effective networks, which have been successful to a large extent in keeping integral the economical, cultural, political and social fabrics of India. From the cold, mountainous landscape to the long stretches of the deserts in Rajasthan, the rail network system in India connects and binds the whole country from south to north, east to west, in a single thread of unity and bondage.

A scheme called ‘National Vikas Yojna’ has been initiated and introduced by the Government of India, to facilitate the growth and development of the Indian Railways. The scheme focuses on the completion of the strategic projects at different levels within the stipulated time period.

The Indian Railway has converted from using meter gauge to broad gauge and this was greatly welcomed by the people of India. Now, impressive locomotives compliments the harbingers of the 21st-century such as the Shatabdi and the Rajdhani.

The railways in India are in the constant process of adding more routes and trains into their railway network, with the aim to make the rail journey comfortable for the passengers. Over the years, the network of tracks has increased considerably. The diversity of Indian Railways is limitless. From idealistic toy trains to narrow gauge sections, the impressive broad gauges to impressive meter gauges, a tourist can experience it all. The metro system of Calcutta and Delhi are examples of complex and developed techniques and infrastructure being used by the Indian Railways.

The incredible railway system of India is undoubtedly the best and the ideal way to explore India and know the country better. A visit to this mesmerizing land of India is surely incomplete if you have not experienced the bustle at the railway stations in India, if you have not had a journey in the trains, where the cry of the tea seller fills your ear, if you haven’t taken a look at the overcrowded suburban railway, if you have not enjoyed the comfort and luxuries of the AC Chair car or AC1, AC2 sleeper class of the trains, and many more.  Considered better in comparison to roadways when it comes to land use, environment effects, long distance journeys, bulk carrier, energy efficiency, safety etc, Indian Railways have always been in the forefront in times of national emergencies.