[ajay99]

Fortunately there are still quite a few passenger NG trains in CR,SECR and WR.recently travelled in the legendary Shakuntala railway (Achalpur-Murtijapur).In the last photo you can see the semaphore signalling system in action from the Nagpur-Nagbhir line

[WAM-4]

Originally Posted by alter.e.go

Nice to see this year old thread rejuvenated. For me a journey is almost synonymous with a train. Going by Air doesn't quite qualify for a 'journey'

You spoke my heart, mate!!

But unfortunately due to the "Surge pricing" concept known as "Felxi-fare" system, Air travel has become more lucrative when compared to travelling in IR [Indian Railways] in many sectors.

An example of this:

Last week, Monday Shatabdi Express cost between Chennai and Bangalore was Rs 1125 and Jet Airways was priced at Rs 980 [inclusive of taxes]

Hope course correction takes place and this Surge pricing concept is withdrawn.

Thanks and Regards,
Rakesh

[Rajeevraj]

Carmelaram railway station - Bangalore. Used to be a ghost station with almost non existent platforms. Development of Sarjapur Road and making it a stop for several long distance trains has made it a bustling place. Good to see railways spending some money to improve facilities also. Now has two proper platforms, better lighting and overhead roof works are in progress. Still a lot can be done though considering the number of people using the station and the revenue this little station is bringing to railways.

[DWind]

Originally Posted by WAM-4

Last week, Monday Shatabdi Express cost between Chennai and Bangalore was Rs 1125 and Jet Airways was priced at Rs 980 [inclusive of taxes]

Although Train might seem expensive, if you factor in the time (could be almost same taking into account distance to airports and also checkin times) and convenience, it is still competitive with Air Travel.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by WAM-4

You spoke my heart, mate!!

But unfortunately due to the "Surge pricing" concept known as "Felxi-fare" system, Air travel has become more lucrative when compared to travelling in IR [Indian Railways] in many sectors.

An example of this:

Last week, Monday Shatabdi Express cost between Chennai and Bangalore was Rs 1125 and Jet Airways was priced at Rs 980 [inclusive of taxes]

Hope course correction takes place and this Surge pricing concept is withdrawn.

Thanks and Regards,
Rakesh

Say you are staying near Tambaram in Chennai and near Silk Board in Bangalore. The taxi charge from airport to Silk Board will be around 1000 Rs. From Tambaram , you can hop on to one of the local trains to reach the airport. The net price comes to about Rs 1980
If you consider train, you can again avail the local train from Tambaram to Chennai Central. Since the train reaches bangalore by 10 30 PM, it will not be practical to board the city bus as availability will be a question mark. So the best option will be taxi that can cost you close to Rs 400. The net price comes to Rs 1525.
Even though train is cheaper compared to train, it is the time factor. By flight you will reach home point to point in about 4 hrs while in train the total journey time could be close to 6 hrs.

[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Say you are staying near Tambaram in Chennai and near Silk Board in Bangalore. The taxi charge from airport to Silk Board will be around 1000 Rs. From Tambaram , you can hop on to one of the local trains to reach the airport. The net price comes to about Rs 1980
If you consider train, you can again avail the local train from Tambaram to Chennai Central. Since the train reaches bangalore by 10 30 PM, it will not be practical to board the city bus as availability will be a question mark. So the best option will be taxi that can cost you close to Rs 400. The net price comes to Rs 1525.
Even though train is cheaper compared to train, it is the time factor. By flight you will reach home point to point in about 4 hrs while in train the total journey time could be close to 6 hrs.

Well we are speaking about cities which have airports . Rail travel is still the fastest and cheapest when it comes to places where air connectivity is not present and there are hundreds of such towns in India which would fall in this category.

regards
Dieseltuned

[Gannu_1]

So the other day I was at Palanpur Junction (here) at around 12 AM waiting for the train towards Ahmedabad. The route from Ahmedabad to Palanpur isn't electrified and is a single track.

I noticed a freight hauler carrying containers double stacked! Possible only because there is no overhead catenary. It was a first for me!

Here's a low quality pic:



This is probably coming from Mundra port.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

So the other day I was at Palanpur Junction (here) at around 12 AM waiting for the train towards Ahmedabad. The route from Ahmedabad to Palanpur isn't electrified and is a single track.

I noticed a freight hauler carrying containers double stacked! Possible only because there is no overhead catenary. It was a first for me!

Here's a low quality pic:

Attachment 1575856

This is probably coming from Mundra port.

The concept of dual container stacking isn't new for India and is possible where the electrification hasn't been done. Yes, A'bad sees loco change from electric to diesel for quite a few trains, specially going towards UP via Madhya Pradesh.

However, I wonder how are these containers tied down considering height. In US, IIRC, the rakes are different which allows the container to be on lower side, hence lower overall height. Lets hope there is more development on this front.

Here is another video from North India

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC0AWv3J4OY

[tharian]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

However, I wonder how are these containers tied down considering height. In US, IIRC, the rakes are different which allows the container to be on lower side, hence lower overall height. Lets hope there is more development on this front.

The wagons used for double stack containers are the same ones as earlier when it was single. I don't think they would manufacture specific wagons either for this purpose since the number of double stack routes are very less.

The containers, I think are clamped to each other and the wagon at the corners. I was surprised when I saw the pictures of a de-railment few months ago and the containers were still attached!

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by tharian

1) The wagons used for double stack containers are the same ones as earlier when it was single. I don't think they would manufacture specific wagons either for this purpose since the number of double stack routes are very less.

2) The containers, I think are clamped to each other and the wagon at the corners. I was surprised when I saw the pictures of a de-railment few months ago and the containers were still attached!

1) The dedicated freight corridor that India is working on will have electrification with double stacking in mind.
Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double...rail_transport

Was pleasantly surprised to read this from source mentioned above :

India is building Dedicated Freight Corridor, economical and environmental friendly electrical traction based double-stack freight railway network which can transport international standard containers, a first in the world.

2) Dangerous tilt, but still not tipped over. Are all these containers are fully loaded ? I doubt so. Else, it would have tipped over, there is a high possibility that the container stacked above could be empty.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

1) The dedicated freight corridor that India is working on will have electrification with double stacking in mind.

That would be something, if completed.

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

2) Dangerous tilt, but still not tipped over. Are all these containers are fully loaded ? I doubt so. Else, it would have tipped over, there is a high possibility that the container stacked above could be empty.

I don't think they are loaded either. I have noticed that most of the double stack container rakes are hauled by a single loco rather than a double loco which means they must be double stacking empty containers on the return after unloading or with less load.

[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by tharian

That would be something, if completed.

.

The DDFC project is well underway and has started construction in any stretches. I would bet another 5 years before this is made fully operational.

Refer below link from their official site for some nice pictures of inprogress bridges and other works.

http://dfccil.gov.in/dfccil_app/Photogallery.jsp


This is another major project in terms of railway infrastructure after the hugely succesfull Konkan railway.

Regards
Dieseltuned

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by tharian

The containers, I think are clamped to each other and the wagon at the corners.

I believe they use something called a twist lock which is used to secure a container with another one. In container carriers ships, the use these locks (that's how I knew about these)

Looks like this:



And it clamps like this:



When you turn that lever, the block atop and below turns 90' thereby disabling the lock.

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

2) Dangerous tilt, but still not tipped over. Are all these containers are fully loaded ? I doubt so. Else, it would have tipped over, there is a high possibility that the container stacked above could be empty.

Then how about these?



Source: Google Images.

[Bookkeeper]

Came across the following video on YouTube. A railway personnel describes in great detail the procedure for starting up the WDP4.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDDXWHBAwiE

[Samba]

Sharing few pics from Ghoom, India's highest Railway station with the legendary Toy train.









And a couple of pics from the Darjeeling station.