Current Affairs

Ministry of Railways: Year End Review 2024

Ministry of Railways: Year End Review 2024

In the quest to Vikasit Bharat 2047, Indian Railways continued its transformative journey in the year 2024, paving the way for a new era of modernization and progress. With a strong focus on meeting world class travel experience, boosting freight efficiency, and adopting advanced technologies, the Railways has solidified its role as a catalyst for national growth. Modern stations, state-of-the-art trains, and innovative safety systems are reshaping the landscape of rail travel. Committed to sustainability, the Railways is steadily moving towards greener operations while driving economic development through extensive infrastructure upgrades and capacity building. This year has reaffirmed its vision of becoming a world-class transportation network, blending tradition with innovation to meet the needs of a dynamic and evolving nation.

Enhancing Rail Track Infrastructure & Speed

Track Renewal Works:

o   6200 Track km rails have been renewed with new rails.

o   Complete track renewal for 6450 track km have been done.

o   Through Turnout Renewal of 8550 sets have been done.

Raising of sectional speed:

Project Engineering & Management:

1.Opening of additional lines of railway and deviation lines (New Lines/GC/Doubling etc.)

2.Rebuilding of major & Important Bridges (New, Modification)

3.Sanction of Minor Works:- Level Crossings (Manning, Upgradation, Interlocking, New LC, Shifting, LHS)

4.Remodelling of yards

Construction of Road Over Bridges (ROBs)/Road Under Bridges (RUBs) during the year 2024 (Jan to Nov.2024) is as under:

 Gati Shakti Projects

In order to boost investment from industry in setting up of cargo terminals, ‘Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminals (GCT) are being developed across the country.

Under these three corridors namely

(i)Energy, Mineral and Cement Corridors;

(ii)High Traffic Density Routes and

(iii)Rail Sagar corridors,

A total 434 projects have been planned for implementation under these three corridors. In the calendar year 2024, a total of 58 projects out of total 434 projects were sanctioned across three economic corridors, with a combined completion cost of about Rs.88,875 crore and a total track length of about 4,107 kilometers.

Plan Head

Commissioning (Km)

New Line

1158

Gauge Conversion

259

Doubling

2016

Total

3433

Indian Railways have achieved total commissioning of 3433 Km from 01.04.2024 to till date, which includes 1158 Km New Line, 259 Km Gauge Conversion and 2016 Km Doubling.

3,210 Rkms has been electrified during calendar year 2024 & electrified & BG Network of IR has been extended to 97%.

 Station Redevelopment:

Information Pertaining to Telecom :-

1. No Elephant Intrusion Detection System (EIDS): This has been commissioned at critical vulnerable location in NFR (Northeast Frontier Railway) for preventing accidents involving elephants.

2. Development of an Application for monitoring of Coach Guidance System (CGS) and Train Indicators Boards (TIB) integrated with NTES: Railway Board has advised to Zonal Railways and CRIS to integrate the CGS & TIB complying to RDSO specifications Revision-4 and using API based interface. CRIS has developed an application for monitoring of Integration of IPIS with NTES.

3. Centralized Announcement System: Centralized Public Address System has been provided at all stations of Bhopal Division under WCR and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) Division under ECR.

4. Use of Digital VHF sets over Indian Railways: Communication between Loco pilot and Guard. To harness the advantages offered by Digital technology based VHF sets, Railway Board has approved that only Digital 5W Walkie-Talkie sets shall be procured over Indian Railways.

5. Tunnel Communication System: The project for provision of Tunnel Communication has been taken up in various Railways.

6.  Optical Fiber Cable (OFC): In the FY 2023-24, Indian Railways have provided 1411 Rkms of Optical Fiber Cable till Nov’2024. Thereby, reaching a cumulative total of approx. 66588 RKms of IR network. Also 801 RKMs of Quad have been provided till Nov’24, with a cumulative total of approx 66271 RKms of IR network.

7. Provision of Wi-Fi facility at Railway Stations: Wi-Fi facility has been provided at 6112 stations so far.

8. Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) at Railway Stations: Indian Railways have approved works for provision of CCTV Cameras at all stations except halt stations. So far, CCTV Cameras have been installed at total 1051 stations.

Key Renewable Energy Milestones

 Dedicated Freight Corridor Projects (EDFC & WDFC) (PROGRESS SO FAR)

Trains run (October 2024)

Corridor

No. of trains run

GTKM (Millions)

 

Average speed (kmph)

October 2024

Cumulative (FY 24-25)

October 2024

Cumulative (FY 24-25)

EDFC

5,915

41,054

11,088

73,022

44.6

WDFC

5,109

31,563

5,643

33,255

51.3

Total

11,024

72,617

16,731

1,06,277

 

Train services: Indian Railways – adapting to passenger demand

Vande Bharat:

 Namo Bharat Rapid Rail:

Amrit Bharat services:

Special train services:

Bharat Gaurav  Tourist Trains:

Bharat Gaurav’ Tourist Trains are theme-based tourist circuit trains that aim to showcase India’s rich cultural heritage and magnificent historical places.

Details of Bharat Gaurav Train from Jan 2024 – Dec 2024

No of Trip

No of Passengers Travelled

158

104077

 Bullet Train Project

 Augmentation of trains:

 Operation of more trains with modern LHB coaches:

 Record freight loading

 Rail Network Under Kavach

The present status of Automatic Train Protection System (Kavach) implementation over IR is as follow:

Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system. Kavach is a highly technology intensive system, which requires safety certification of the highest order  (SIL-4).

Implementation of Kavach System involves following Key Activities:

Next phase of Kavach implementation is planned as under:- 

SN

Items

Progress

i

Laying of Optical Fibre Cable

5,133 Km

ii

Installation of Telecom Towers

540 Nos.

iii

Provision of Kavach at Stations

523 Nos.

iv

Provision of Kavach in Loco

707 Locos

v

Installation of Track Side Equipment

3,434 Rkm

Digital initiatives – bringing convenience in passengers’ hands

Digital India Initiative – Human Resource Management System (HRMS)

Indian Railways’ Contribution to Skill India Initiative

Performance Indicator

As on 31.12.2024

As on 01.12.2024

No. of onboarded railway officials

8,43,087

11,92,495

No. of officials enrolled in min 01 course

48,824

5,15,532

Total course enrolments

2,13,642

42,42,409

Total course completion

1,54.053

29,30,811

o   Almost 33% of course enrollments and completions during NLW came from IR.

o   Almost 40% of users who surpassed the minimum 4 hours of learning mark during the NLW came from IR.

o   Amongst top 05 MDOs, who completed Karmayogi Saptah target, 04 MDO were from IR with NCR ranked no. 1, NWR ranked no. 3, ER ranked no. 4 and WR ranked no. 5.

o   55,251 employees of Eastern Railway (ER) completed at least 1 course. The closest second and third were NCR and WR with 37.87K and 37.12K

o   Amongst top 10 courses consumed during NLW, 02 courses were from IR.

o   60+ live Webinars/Seminars were conducted by railway CTIs/ZRTIs.

Recruitment and Workforce Management

o    Opportunities to those becoming eligible every year;

o    Certainty of exams;

oFaster Recruitment process, Training and Appointments

oMore opportunities for candidates;

 

Pradhanmantri Jan Aushadhi Kendras & One Station One Product Scheme

oNo. of stations operational are 1906.

oNo. of units/outlets operational are 2170.

Capital Expenditure

Health and cleanliness

 Special Campaign 4.0:

Pendency Reduction:

o   1065 MP references were resolved in full.

o   138 State Government references were successfully addressed.

o   65 out of 69 PMO references were cleared.

o   55 out of 139 Parliamentary Assurances were completed.

o   2.5 lakh public grievances were resolved.

o   1427 Public Grievances Appeals were addressed.

File Review and Management:

o   Weeding out of over 89,000 outdated files for streamlining records management.

 Social Media Engagement:

o   3713 tweets and numerous reposts were done, generating widespread public interest and involvement in the Swachhatta movement

Indian Railways’ Heritage

o   The ‘Baby Sivok’, the smallest steam engine built in 1881 is now proudly displayed at Ghum Station, offering tourists a tangible link to the Railway’s rich legacy.

 

Achievements made by RPF during the year 2024 (up to November)

Details of complaints attended over Twitter and Helpline No.:

Year

No. of complaints attended on Twitter

No. of complaints attended on Helpline No.

Total

2024 (upto Nov.)

19,590

3,35,720

3,55,310

                         

Efforts made to strengthen Railway Security

a) Operation “Nanhe Faristey”(Rescue of children) :- Ministry of Railways in collaboration with Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) issued a revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in Oct. 2024.

Details of children rescued by RPF under Operation “Nanhe Faristey”(Rescue of children)

Year

No. of children’s rescued by RPF

2024 (upto Nov.)

13,717

b) OperationYatri Suraksha’ – Redressal of security related complaints of passengers.

Year

No of IPC Cases detected

No. of persons arrested

2024 (upto Nov.)

3,702

4,158

c) Operation “Amanat” – Cases of left behind passengers’ luggage and handed over them to the right person.

Year

No. of Cases of Retrieval of left behind luggage of passengers and its return

Value of recovered property (in Rs.)

2024 (upto Nov.)

36,026

64,22,55,731

d) OperationJeevan Raksha”: – Wherein passenger in hurry tried to board/de-board a moving train and slip/fall with the risk of coming under the wheels of train or tried to commit suicide deliberately coming in front of a running train.

Year

Saving life to reduce deaths on track

Male

Female

Total

2024 (upto Nov.)

2,328

970

3,298

e) Operation “Sewa”

Year

No. of persons (Elderly/Women/Divyangjan/ Sick/Injured/Infants) assisted by RPF

2024 (upto Nov.)

16,594

f) Operation “Matrishakti” – Ladies RPF personnel goes out of the way to help pregnant women who go into labor during their train journeys, in childbirth under operation Matrishakti.

Year

No. of cases attended and assistance provided in child birth

In Train

In premises

Total

2024 (upto Nov.)

102

61

163

g) Operation “AAHT” (Action Against Human Trafficking): –On 19.03.2024, RPF has signed a MoU with National Commission for Women (NCW) for Preventing and Combating Human Trafficking through providing capacity building training organizing workshops for RPF personnel.

Year

No. of Trafficked Persons rescued

No. of traffickers arrested

Juvenile

Adult

Total

Boys

Girls

Male

Female

2024 (upto Nov.)

761

61

50

10

882

278

h) Operation “Uplabdh” :-  Under operation Uplabdh. Regular drives are conducted by RPF against touts over Indian Railway and action is taken against persons found involved in as per extant legal provisions..

A.Action against towel spreaders/Unauthorized entry/Resisting entry of authorized passengers.

Year

Cases registered u/s 155 Rly act

Persons arrested

Amount of fine released

2024 (upto Nov.)

33,373

33,440

65,82,565

 B.  Action for procuring of illegal tickets.

Year

No. of cases registered

No. of persons arrested

No. of ticket seized

Value of ticket seized

No. of IRCTC user IDs blocked

Future journey

Past journey

Future journey

Past journey

2024 (upto Nov.)

4353

5796

29,00,035

99,155

12.2 Cr.

39.5 Cr.

24,663

 C.  Action against persons unauthorized occupied travel space in coaches reserved for passengers with disabilities-

Year

No. of cases registered

No. of persons arrested

2024 (upto Nov.)

86,895

87,866

 (i) Operation “Rail Suraksha” – RPF has been mandated for protection & security of Railway Property. RPF prosecutes offenders involved in theft, misappropriations of railway property.

Booked consignment + Railway Material

Year

No. of cases registered

Value of Property recovered

No. of persons arrested

2024 (upto Nov.)

5353

7.9 Cr.

9,785

j) Operation Satark :- This operation is aimed to assist other Law Enforcement Agencies in their work under which RPF makes/assist them in recovery of Tabacco product, liquor product, recovery of FICN/Unaccounted gold/unaccounted cash/Unaccounted other precious metal/smuggled goods/ Arms & Ammunitions/ explosives and recovery of banned medicines.

Year

Tobacco Product

 

Liquor Product

Recovery of FICN/Unaccounted gold /Cash /Other Smuggled Goods etc.

Cases detected

Value

Persons arrested

Cases detected

Value

Persons arrested

Cases detected

Value

Persons arrested

2024 (upto Nov.)

94

3.4 Cr.

46

2020

2.4 Cr.

1,332

62

24.96 Cr.

48

k) Operation ‘Dusra’ :-This operation is launched for acting against the menace of unauthorized hawking and vending in Railway premises and in trains

Year

No. of cases registered

No. of persons arrested

2024 (upto Nov.)

2,41,923

2,42,266

l) Operation “NARCOS” :- Under “operation NARCOS” RPF arrested criminals and handed over to empowered agencies for further legal action.

Recovery of NDPS

Year

No. of cases detected

Value of NDPS recovered

No. of persons arrested

2024 (upto Nov.)

1295

63.7 Cr.

1097

m) Operation ‘WILEP’ :-Under this operation RPF has taken stringent action against the smuggler involved in illegal trade of wildlife through railways.

Year

No. of cases detected

No. of persons arrested

 

 

Fauna

Flora

2024 (upto Nov.)

35

18

21

 

                                                

During the General Parliamentary Election- 2024, RPF seized unaccounted Cash, Drugs/NDPS (Ganja/Charas, Tobacco), Contraband(Liquor), Bullion (Gold, Silver etc.), Illegal Arms/Ammunition, Others (Cigarettes, Pan Masala etc.) of valued Rs. 39 Cr..

n.) Operation ‘Bhoomi’– RPF assists the sister departments of Railways in clearing the railway land from illegal encroachment under “Operation Bhoomi   ”.

Year

No. of drives conducted

Units cleared from encroachments with location

2024 (upto Nov.)

1119

13605

 o.) Meri Saheli Initiative:

 

Action taken u/s 162 of the Railways Act (unauthorizedly entering carriage or other place reserved for females)

Year

No. of cases registered

No. of persons arrested

2024 (upto Nov.)

92405

95146

Sports

Indian Railways Shines at Paris Olympics 2024

Three Railway players won medals at the Paris Olympics:

  1. Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal

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