Despite efforts to slow it, Duronto chugs in early

V Ayyappan | TNN 

Nov 7:

Chennai: The railways seem to have by default achieved something they haven’t been able to by design — making a train arrive ahead of schedule. 

    The non-stop Duronto seems to be reaching destinations well before schedule. An eventuality the railways was not prepared for. For the last three Wednesdays, the Duronto from Nizamuddin, scheduled to arrive at Chennai Central at 8.10 pm, has been rolling in almost 20-40 minutes early. With just four brief stops — for maintenance, filling water and food and for change of crew — the train covers the 2,176-km distance faster. 

    When the service was announced, it was said that the Duronto would travel non-stop and reach destinations at least 20 minutes faster than the premium full-service Rajdhani Express. However, fearing that it would become a competition to the Rajdhani Express, the Railways tweaked the arrival and departure timings to ensure that the running time was the same as that of the Rajdhani Express — 28 hours. 

    But the changes made on paper failed to reflect on the ground and officials soon realised the train was covering distances faster than they thought it would. The train cannot be slowed down during the journey. “After Vijayawada, it runs non-stop at 130 km per hour and reaches Tiruvotriyur almost an hour before schedule. So we regulate the train from there,” said a railway official. 

    According to rules, trains should be allowed into the destination station only 10 minutes before the scheduled arrival. Southern Railway officials say they are not able to maintain this rule because they cannot detain the train mid-way just because it arrived early. So, it is allowed into Central much earlier.

New tracks to speed up suburban trains

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Oct 31:

Chennai: Commuters from Arakonam can look forward to a hasslefree journey if Southern Railway’s proposal to lay new tracks to remove a bottleneck near Basin Bridge gets the Railway Board’s nod. 

    Suburban trains to Moore Market Complex station from Tiruttani, Arakonam and Gummidipoondi arrive late by more than an hour almost every morning as they are held up near Basin Bridge to make way for Express trains coming to Chennai Central. Trains are also held up for 15 to 20 minutes to allow empty rakes of long distance trains to be taken to Basin Bridge for maintenance. 

    “We are planning separate train corridors to prevent cross movement of trains. Three lines are planned on the southwest side to handle traffic from Jolarpet and another line on the east side to handle traffic from Gudur,” Southern Railway general manager MS Jayanth said. 

    Around four lakh commuters travel every day on the 171 suburban services operated in the Arakonam-Chennai section. More than 25 Express trains arrive at the Central railway station during the morning peak hours. Rly minister promises more amenities for suburban trains 

Chennai: The Southern Railway had sent a proposal to the Railway Board, suggesting that new tracks be laid to separate the movement of suburban and Express trains, its general manager, MS Jayanth, said on Friday. This will ensure that the suburban trains do not have to wait for express trains and can operate on time. 

    “We are considering different plans to remove the bottleneck so that suburban trains can be operated on time. This proposal is one among them. But the separation of corridors is different from another proposal, which was suggested as part of the expansion of Chennai central railway station more than a year ago,” Southern Railway chief public relations officer VJ Accamma said. 

    Minister of state for railways E Ahamed inspected the Chennai-Arakonam sector on Friday, and assured the commuters that Rs 35 crore-worth passenger amenities would be provided at these suburban stations. Ahamed travelled in an “inspection special” train as part of his Jan Sampark programme and met commuters at Perambur, Villivakkam, Ambattur, Avadi, Tiruvallur, Arakkonam, Katpadi, Ambur and Vaniyambadi. 

    According to Kumaran, a resident of Avadi, “The minister promised to consider our request to allot stoppage for the Mangalore-Chennai Mail at the railway station. We have also demanded more ticket counters and toilets at the station.” 

    Incidentally, the suburban time table, released on Friday, comes with a disclaimer: “Railway administration does not guarantee the arrival and departure of trains at specified timings in this time table.”

Air passenger traffic shows recovery signs

V Ayyappan | TNN 

Oct 29:

Chennai: Air passenger traffic, at a low for a long time this year, is showing signs of recovery. The Airports Authority of India (AAI), going by the current trend, predicts that passenger movement and aircraft movement in the domestic and international sectors will surpass the figures of 2008-09 at Chennai airport. Passenger traffic had declined in 2008-09 when compared to the previous year. 

    More people are flying on international and domestic routes and airport officials hope to see 

more footfalls when the expanded and modernised airport opens its doors sometime next year. 

    “This is a recovery from the time when domestic passenger traffic declined to 7-10% in June, July, August and September 2008,” said an AAI official. 

    Domestic passenger traffic is projected to touch approximately 64 lakh by March 2010 compared to 61.79 lakh last year while international passenger traffic is expected to touch 38.47 lakh against 36.63 lakh last year, according to an AAI forecast. 

    The total passenger traffic on domestic and international flights is expected to touch 1.01 crore at Chennai by the end of this financial year — an increase of around three lakh compared to the 98.42 lakh last year. 

    These projections are based on the trend of passenger movements so far. “Passenger traffic has improved as the rate of decline has slowed down and stabilised. Domestic passengers have declined by 2% and international passengers have increased by 1 from April to September this year when compared to the corresponding period last year. Though domestic traffic is still in negative growth, it has improved from the earlier 6-7% decline in previous months,” said an official. 

    The figures are expected to improve further with international airlines offering special packages and fares. And airlines and hotels have already received good advance bookings for November and December. 

    “All flights from US and Europe are booked full. There are no seats for return trips because foreigners are coming for holidays while non-resident Indians are coming to meet relatives and friends. Chennai airport will see good international arrivals in the coming months till January,” said Sylvester Thomas, chairman and managing director of Around the World Travels and Tours. 

    Aircraft movement is also predicted to improve at Chennai, from 1.15 lakh in 2008-09 to 12 lakh by March 2010. An AAI official said the trend was the same for airports at Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. “After a bad patch, things are improving almost to the 2007-08 levels, when aviation business was at its peak,” said an Air India official. 

    ayyappan.v@timesgroup.com 

Airport ATC to go automatic

American Company Bags Rs 42-Crore Design Contract

V Ayyappan | TNN 

Oct 27:

Chennai: After defining air routes for landing and take-off under the Performance Based Navigation (PBN) sytem, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has taken steps to introduce automation of air traffic control at the Chennai airport. 

    A meeting with representatives of US-based Raytheon, which bagged the Rs 42 crore contract to automate ATC, is scheduled in the coming days to discuss the details. “They will have to study the procedures used here and then design a system that can match ours,” said a senior AAI official. 

    Like PBN, automation is crucial for the airport here because the traffic has crossed 400 aircraft a day. In Mumbai, PBN was installed when traffic touched 350 aircraft a day. So, an automated ATC system will ease the workload of controllers, improve air safety and make handling of aircraft in the congested air space easy. 

    Installing an automated ATC system, however, is going to be a long process. Raytheon’s officials “will be working with air traffic controllers simultaneously to perfect automation before starting the training programmes and actual implementation,” an official said. 

    It is likely to take at least a year before the system becomes operational. 

    Chennai airport does not see busy traffic throughout the day; the skies over it are heavily congested during the morning and evening peak hours. 

    “Too many flights are handled during peak hours, especially because airlines have slotted flights one after the other at short intervals. We have to handle over-flights, aircraft climbing and descending at neighbouring airports before routing the flights for arrivals and departures at Chennai airport. It is high time we had a modernised ATC,” said a source. 

    The AAI officials in Delhi never thought air traffic would increase so rapidly at Chennai. 

    The airport is expected to get a new radar system in a few months but it will be installed by another company. Raytheon, therefore, will have to standardise the automation procedure to suit the radar system. According to air safety expert and former pilot captain Mohan Ranganathan, “automation can be implemented only if the PBN system is followed thoroughly in the country. Now, ATCs are forced to switch from PBN to conventional air traffic control quite often. The airports in Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong follow only PBN. In India, we follow both the systems.” 

    Pilots say that though PBN allowed for four miles of separation between aircraft in air, Delhi and Mumbai ATCs insist on a 14-mile separation. “This shows that PBN is not put to optimum use,” said Ranganathan. 

T EC H U P G RA D E 

    Automation package includes new main radar, surface movement radar, remote-controlled air-ground VHF communication and upgrade of oceanic surveillance 

    Remote-controlled air-ground VHF communication will be installed at Port Blair, Vishakhapatnam, Udhagamandalam and Bellari to improve VHF communication with pilots flying over land 

Information about flights from oceanic control, radar and meteorological dept will be integrated for air traffic controllers 

Automation will improve air safety because controllers will get alerts on the location of aircraft if their routes or position are in conflict with other aircraft.

Lack of policing, poor infrastructure make tourist spots unsafe

V Ayyappan | TNN 

Oct 23:

Chennai: Sudhir S loves nature and enjoys trekking. A couple of months ago, at the scenic falls in Courtallam, the student was saddened when he saw a bunch of drunken men smash beer bottles into the rocks at the twilight hour. The areas was poorly-lit and the men were drinking and throwing bottles into the water. Since, there were no girls in his team the men did not notice them. 

    Things turned ugly for some trekkers, including women, who went to the Tada falls in Andhra Pradesh a month ago. “A bunch of drunken men tried to harass women in our team. They made lewd comments, splashed water and started to jump closer to the women in the water. So we had to withdraw,” said Vinod Hari of the Chennai Trekking Club (CTC). 

    Lack of proper policing and poor infrastructure at tourist spots such as waterfalls and beaches make them unsafe for tourists. 

    Tourists, especially women, are harassed by locals at Mamallapuram and beaches on the East Coast Road, and groups of drunken brats and men make life difficult for visitors at Courtallam, Tirumurthy Falls, Agasthya Falls in Papnasam and in forest areas of Tirunelveli in the state and at Tada falls, Sadasiva kone and Kailash kone, close to Chennai, in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. 

    Chennai Trekking Club is planning a “Save Tada” campaign on November 1 to make the favourite trekking and picnic spot safe and free from pollution. 

    “In recent years Tada’s clear water streams have become a dumpyard for garbage — plastic, broken liquor bottles — while visitors are harassed by drunks. Valuables are also often stolen from parked cars. We have decided to conduct an awareness campaign to educate locals on the need to remain friendly to tourists,” said Vinod Hari. Around 200 volunteers from Chennai will clean up the area around waterfalls, he added. 

    Glenn, a student, says: “I had a bad experience when I visited Mamallapuram with a couple of my friends. We were sitting on the beach when a bunch of locals started teasing the girls in our group. They even went to the extent of trying to pull a girl’s hand. The beaches are almost deserted and unsafe. There should be police patrol in these areas.” 

    A Tamil Nadu tourism department official said: “There was a proposal to form a tourism police but it was dropped when the ministry felt the task could be handled by the police. We have put guards in most tourist spots. There is not much of a problem in the state. But it is not possible to monitor all parts of tourist destinations.”

Tourism Department To Organise Expeditions To Hilly Places Across Tamil Nadu

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Oct 26:

Chennai: If you enjoy trudging through the grassy Top Slip and desolate rocky Tirusulam Hills, planning for it just got easier as Tamil Nadu Tourism Department (TTDC) is all set to promote trekking in a big way. The newly constituted eco-tourism wing of the department has decided to organise trekking expeditions in hilly terrain across the state. 

    In the first phase, three trekking expeditions are scheduled at Servarayan hills at Yercaud, Tirusulam Hills opposite the airport and Top Slip in Coimbatore on different dates from October last week to mid November. The trips to Yercaud and Top Slip will last for three days while trekking on Tirusulam Hills will be wound up in half a day. 

    The first trip to Servarayan hills near Yercaud is scheduled to 

    kick-off on October 30 and end on November 1. The tour will cost Rs 2,000 per person including all expenses. “We have already received 14 bookings for this trekking expedition. Tourists will be taken to Yercaud by bus from TTDC head office at Wallajah Road,” said an official of the department. Tirusulam trek is on November 7 while the three-day trekking trip to Top Slip is scheduled to start on November 13. More such programmes are planned. “TN Tourism decided to have such programmes after we received feedback from people that they would love to go on trekking trips with us rather than with private guides. We received several letters from people asking us to start such programmes,” the official said. 

    Vidya Sagar, a businessman, said: “I have booked the trekking tour to Yercaud hills on October 30. As I am based in Salem I will be joining the team from Chennai at Yercaud. This is the first time I will be going on such an expedition. I am excited because the trip will help me visit areas were medicinal herbs grow in the hills.” 

    This is the first time that TTDC will be conducting trekking expeditions in an organised way. Till now, tourism department’s staff or approved guides used to guide trekking parties into the forest areas at Tirunelveli, Ooty, Yercaud and other places. But, “We decided to take bookings for trekking to promote adventure tourism and also let people experience lesser-known destinations,” said a TTDC official. 

“TTDC has been organising several tours. But, such conducted tours only help the tourists to see certain spots. They do not allow tourists to explore the area in a way a trekking programme can do,” he added. 

MARCHING BRIGADE 

In the first phase, three trekking expeditions are scheduled at Servarayan Hills at Yercaud, Tirusulam Hills opposite the airport and Top Slip 

The trips to Yercaud and Top Slip are going to be for three days while trekking on Tirusulam Hills will be wound up in half a day 

The tour will cost Rs 2,000 per person, including all expenses.

New air traffic control system in city takes off with a stutter

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Oct 23: 

Chennai: As the Jet Airways Chennai-Bangalore flight 2727 took off on Thursday, air traffic controllers in Chennai eased back into their seats to watch the aircraft climb. It was the first day of the performance-based navigation (PBN) system, which allows aircraft to follow a pre-determined feeder route automatically, unlike the earlier system of being instructed continuously by the air traffic controllers. 

    The Bangalore flight did not have the new feeder routes data fed into its flight management system (FMS), forcing the air traffic controllers to go back to the old system of guiding an aircraft to its cruising altitude. The new system works only if the controllers and the pilots have the PBN system installed in their respective systems. On the first day, at least 30% of aircraft were not equipped. The rest, however, went by the advanced system with ease. 

    Though the Airports Authority of India started its PBN system on Thursday, after a 45-day intimation to all airlines, there were some hiccups because some of the aircraft didn’t have data relating to the new departure and arrival feeder routes fed into their flight management systems. 

    A Chennai-Bangalore Kingfisher flight was the first one to fly out along the pre-determined feeder route prepared by AAI to implement the PBN-based RNAV 1 navigation system. AAI has designed feeder routes for departure and arrival for aircraft and has also defined six holding points 40 nautical miles around the city before implementing the navigation system. 

    Though all the aircraft owned by commercial airlines in the country are compatible with the PBN system, which is already being followed in Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, some of the aircraft that used Chennai airport did not have the routes and holding locations data loaded 

    into their flight management system. 

    “Around 30% of the aircraft did not have the details fed into their system. We do not know why they were not able to do this because the routes were published in aviation manuals and we had also issued notice-to-airmen (notam) regarding the date on which the airport would start using the PBN system,” said a senior airport official. Almost all aircraft of Kingfisher Airlines, Spice Jet and Paramount Airways aircraft had fed the data into the FMS. But some aircraft owned by Jet Airways and Air India had not. A senior AAI official hoped that it was just teething trouble. “All airlines will feed the required data into their systems in 72 hours,” he said. An Air India pilot said that the PBN system would make it much easier to fly into the airport.

India Post reinvents itself in digital era

V Ayyappan | TNN 

Oct 22:

Chennai: Just when it was thought that mobile phones and email had virtually pushed the post offices into oblivion, they are all set to bounce back. India Post has decided to re-invent them as units that will provide multi-utility services for customers. 

    Now that the practice of first class mail (personal letters) has declined, India Post has decided to sell everything apart from the usual stamps, inland letters, post cards and other articles that were popular till a decade ago. Post offices have begun selling gold coins; books; foreign exchange; application forms for various competitive exams — TN public service commission, union public service commission, TN uniformed services recruitment board — admission forms for colleges and universities; recharge coupons of BSNL mobile connections; railway, airline and bus tickets. And, also, issue of postal identity cards. 

    And, going by the rush at the Anna Salai Head Post Office on Tuesday, the idea of redefining the business of post offices appears to have paid off. Unlike a decade ago, these visitors were not there to buy stamps, inland letter cards or post cards. 

    They, instead, made a beeline for the counters where staff were selling gold coins, mobile re-charge coupons, railway tickets and several other services. 

    These services, introduced in select post offices in major cities, towns and taluk head quarters one by one “will soon be be introduced in all post offices in the city and state,” said a senior India Post official. 

    According to the postmaster general for business development and marketing (Chennai circle), T Moorthy, “the sale of gold coins is very popular, especially during the festival season.” “We sold 21 kg of gold coins in the two months prior to Diwali,” he added 

    India Post began focussing more on business post, parcel services and freight after traffic in first class mail (personal letters) started to drop more than five years ago. 

    The 13 lakh letters (first class mail) handled daily by post offices in the Chennai circle five years ago fell to just 9 lakh a day this year. The increase in the number of telephones and the spread of mobile phones and email were cited as the causes for the drop in the share of the postal department in personal communication. India Post even held school-level and collegelevel letter writing competitions to revive the habit. But the numbers continued to fall. So, India Post decided on changing the variety of services on offer, said Moorthy. More utility services could be introduced through post offices with India Post planning to tie-up with the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to collect power bill payments at post offices. 

Disabled seek agency to register modified vehicles

V Ayyappan | TNN 

Oct 21:

Chennai: Laws are supposed to benefit citizens. But an amendment made to the Central Motor Vehicles Act to ensure that people with disabilities can have a safe ride on the road has hit a roadblock as the state does not have any authorised facility to certify modifications made to two-wheelers and fourwheelers. 

    Until seven years ago, people with disabilities used to buy two-wheelers, modify them at local workshops and register them as ‘invalid carriages’. Not anymore. The Union government amended the Central Motor Vehicles Act in 2002 to prevent such modifications and stated that vehicles owned by persons with disabilities should be modified only by agencies certified by the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) and the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) in Pune. 

    “We want the state government to establish an automobile institute like the one in Pune, to certify modifications made to two-wheelers for use of the disabled. This will help several persons with disabilities who are not able to register their vehicles now,” said K Gopinath, state general secretary, TN Association for the Welfare of Physically Challenged and also a member of the TN Welfare Board for the Disabled. Persons with disabilities use their own vehicles to move around as public transport is crowded and disabled-friendly facilities are not present. There are a couple of workshops that modify two-wheelers but they are not certified by CIRT or ICAT. “Most of the people with disabilities have modified two-wheelers by fitting two extra wheels on either side of the vehicle. Some people have customised gears and the brake system. Such modifications are carried out either by the dealer or by some local workshops,” Gopinath said. 

    ayyappan.v@timesgroup.com 

Port lacks lab to test food

Absence Of Facility Leads To Delay In Clearing Consignments

V Ayyappan | TNN 

Oct 21:

Chennai: The absence of a fully equipped laboratory to exclusively test imported fruits and packaged food has been hampering the detection of adulteration, leading to delay in clearing consignments at Chennai port. 

    Importers have written to the Union health ministry to either establish a food laboratory close to the port or to authorise the Regional Plant Quarantine Station (RPQS) in Meenambakkam and the Export Inspection Agency (EIA) in Egmore to test samples. Now, samples from imported consignments are sent to the Central Food Testing and Research Institute (CFTRI) in Mysore. 

    Though container traffic has increased over the years forcing the port to plan a Rs 470-crore new container terminal, Chennai does not have an exclusive laboratory such as CFTRI to test imported fruits, foodgrains and packaged food. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) stipulates that exclusive labs should be established close to ports to ensure that consignments are cleared faster. 

    Around 300 containers of fruits - apples, oranges, pears and grapes - are imported every month through the port. The 40-ft reefer containers need constant power supply because the inside temperature should be maintained at 1.1 degree Celcius. Samples are sent to Mysore for testing. If test results are delayed, consignments are detained either at the port or at one of the 26 container freight stations. 

    “Importers have to pay detention charges, demurrage, expenses for an attender to monitor temperature inside the containers, and additional handling charges to move the goods to a container freight station when fresh consignments arrive at the port. It takes more than a week for test results to come from Mysore,” said Chozha Naachiar Rajsekhar, president, The Tamil Chamber of Commerce. 

    An importer in Koyembedu paid Rs 1.2 lakh recently for two containers of apples that had to be detained at the port and at a frieght station because the test results took a week. 

    In most cases, importers are unable to supply fruits during festivals when demand peaks. Again, freight stations do not maintain the required temperature in the container. 

    The Tamil Chamber of Commerce has suggested that the government also recognise private laboratories and hire public analysts who test samples on a contract basis at the King Institute, Guindy, and at the Public Health Laboratory, Puducherry. Director of public health, Dr S Elango, said that the state government had already upgraded facilities at the King Institute. “Vacancies of public analysts will be filled up soon. A private laboratory is also being set up in the state,” he said. 

    ayyappan.v@timesgroup.com 

Duronto fails to click with passengers

V Ayyappan | TNN 

Oct 13:

Chennai: The weekly non-stop Duronto Express to New Delhi is yet to catch the fancy of Chennaiites. Lack of awareness, officials say, is to blame for the poor patronage for Railway minister Mamata Banerjee’s pet project. 

    The weekly service launched on September 21 has since been registering less than 50% occupancy. The regular Tamil Nadu Express and the Grand Trunk Express continue to see full occupancy.On the inaugural day, the Duronto — which reaches the national capital in almost the same time as the premium Rajdhani Express — received 50% bookings.. This dipped to 40% on September 28. However, things improved slightly and the Duronto saw 45% bookings on October 5, officials said. 

    “We expect the bookings to go up in the coming weeks. Those who book online prefer to reserve for the Duronto because its name shows up on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation’s (IRCTC) website. Those who book tickets at the counters do not know much of the new service. They still go for trains they are familiar with. A majority of the people who come to reserve tickets from the reservation centres do not check whether new trains or special trains are available,” said a senior official. 

    Around 200 sleeper berths are still available for the October 12 Duronto service; on the same day, all sleeper class berths have been booked on the GT Express and the Tamil Nadu Express. The waiting list is 36 for the sleeper coaches on these trains. 

    For the the Third AC class, too, patronage is poor on the Duronto —59 berths are still available for the October 12 service. All berths in the same class on TN Express and GT Express have been sold out. 

    Southern Railway officials said “Duronto Express will be a blessing for passengers who wish to travel by sleeper class coaches because they get full service too unlike in TN Express and Grand Trunk Express.” 

    Duronto has 48 AC 2-tier berths, 224 AC 3-tier berths and 624 sleeper class berths. The AC 2-tier fare is Rs 2,530 (Rs 2,625 in the Rajdhani Express) and the AC 3-tier fare is Rs 1,925 (Rs 2,005 in the Rajdhani Express. A sleeper class berth on the Duronto costs Rs 760, including food. 

    “The train has completed just three services and runs only once a week. It will become popular in the coming days,” said Southern Railway chief public relations officer A J Accamma. Southern Railway general manager M S Jayanth said “we are waiting for the new rake to start the second service of the Duronto on Thursdays on the Chennai-H Nizamuddin route.”

Poor maintenance of rly coaches poses risk

SAFETY COMPROMISED

V Ayyappan | TNN 

Oct 10:

Chennai: Infrastructure at coaching yards where trains are maintained has not kept pace with the number of trains introduced in the last couple of years by Southern Railway, pushing safety down in the list of priorities. 

    Southern Railway has neither increased the number of pit lines — where technicians check the underside fixtures of coaches — nor upgraded the condition of the existing ones at coaching yards, despite a railway board stipulation. The condition of pit lines is pathetic at one of the busiest and oldest yards of Basin Bridge Train Care Centre where 24 trains or 1,000 coaches are maintained and certified for operation every day. Only 19 of the 21 pit lines are used regularly. 

    Since the existing pit lines are inadequate to handle the number of trains, technical supervisors are not able to check the coaches properly. “Most of the pit lines become waterlogged during rains and the lighting is poor, though 10 trains, including the Shatabdi Express, Brindavan Express and Jammu Tawi Express, are checked and certified at night. The workload of technicians has also gone up. If the infrastructure is not improved, it will impact safety,” said a source. 

    In the hurry to introduce the Duronto service, new rakes were brought to the Basin Bridge Train Care Centre within three months, but no authorised official bothered to check if the coaching yard had adequate facilities to handle the new coaches that have a slightly different design. 

    In a bid to introduce more trains using the existing number of coaches, the Railway Board also tweaked maintenance rules and stipulated that primary maintenance should be done only after trains run for 3,500 km. Hence, several trains that do not complete the 3,500 km are made to turn around after they are given cleaning and other checks at the railway station platforms, which are ill-equipped. 

    This puts passengers at risk. Recently, a passenger alighting from the Bangalore-Chennai Express was injured. “A vacuum machine was parked in front of the door as I was getting down and when I turned to pick up my luggage from the doorway, somebody switched the machine on and it pulled in the pallu of my saree. The cloth cut my back,” said Vani, the passenger. 

    Southern Railway chief mechanical engineer V Carmelus denied there was any laxity in maintenance. “All trains are serviced for six hours in pit lines. Before a new train is accepted we check if we have the required maintenance facility and every train is assigned to coaching centres based on the infrastructure available,” he said. 

    He added: “We have developed a standard design for coaching depots. Basin Bridge is more than 100 years old and may not match the standard design. But, we continuously upgrade the facilities.”

11 run over by trains in a single day

Majority Of Victims Were Talking On Mobiles While Crossing Railway Tracks

V Ayyappan | TNN 

Oct 8:

Chennai: Suburban commuters are paying dearly for flouting safety rules. Eleven people died while crossing railway tracks on Tuesday, under the Chennai division (which stretches up to Erode and Coimbatore) of the Southern Railway. The 11 deaths occurred in Korukkupet, Gummidipoondi, Erode, Pothanur, Morappur, Athur, Tambaram (two cases), Chromepet, Annanur and Basin Bridge. 

    Despite efforts to create awareness by the Government Railway Police (GRP), the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Southern Railway, the number of deaths is spiralling. 

    The deaths were due to carel

ess crossing of tracks. A majority of the accidents occur because commuters cross railway tracks while talking on mobile phones. The victims were all run over by trains. The railway police were able to identify eight victims who died in Chennai; they are yet to identify the three who had died elsewhere. 

    According to statistics provided by GRP, more than 525 people have died in the city since January this year after being knocked down by trains while crossing railway tracks; the figure was 1,300 for last year. 

    However, under the entire Chennai division, about 1,050 people have died from January to September this year, compared to 2,600 people last year. “Approximately 95% of the deaths in the Chennai division occur in suburban lines. Tambaram, Avadi, Perambur, Korukkupet, Gummidipoondi 

and Ennore are where most deaths happen,” said S Paneer Selvam, superintendent of police, GRP. He added: “People hop across tracks even after spotting an approaching train. They think that the train is far away and that they can cross the track before it reaches them. We have tried all steps, such as awareness programmes, even coercion and fines. But people continue to hop across tracks and get killed. GRP personnel use lathis to chase away commuters and to dissuade people from standing on the footboard of trains.” 

    Chennai divisional railway manager S K Kulshrestha said fences or walls were being built to block access to railway tracks. 

    “But people demolish the walls. Standing by the tracks while trains speed by is dangerous.” 

Unsafe crossings 

Awareness campaigns seem to have failed to deter commuters from crossing the railway tracks in and around the city 

Commuters prefer to hop across a railway track to board a suburban train. They do not like to use the foot overbridges 

Most deaths happen at Tambaram, Avadi, Perambur, Korukkupet, Gummidipoondi and Ennore railway crossings. In a majority of the cases, commuters cross the tracks while talking on their mobile phones 

The Chennai Beach-Tambaram line claims most of the lives because of the high frequency of trains and density of commuters 

On an average seven to 10 persons die every day after being run over by trains in the city.

Airport to get new traffic control system this month

V Ayyappan | TNN 

Oct 7:

Chennai: Flying into Chennai airport could soon be free of hassles, and cheaper for the airlines as well, as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to introduce the Performance Based Navigation (PBN) procedure for air traffic control from October 22. 

    The upgraded system, already in place in Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, is being introduced here as a step prior to the proposed air traffic control automation planned when the airport gets new radars by the end of next year. 

    Lack of sophisticated navigational procedure, poorly designed taxiways and a high requirement of fuel for aircraft due to congestion make Chennai a high-cost airport. All this is likely to change in the coming days. 

    Under the PBN procedure, pilots would be provided predetermined arrival routes into the airport. The feeder routes will be taken by the aircraft while descending from the cruising heights for landing. The modern procedure helps pilots approach an airport for landing without the aid of air traffic controllers and also learn about air traffic density around an airport. 

    Other than the PBN, Chennai airport will be upgraded from the existing RNAV-10 system to a more sophisticated RNAV-1 system, which reduces space between aircraft while approaching the runway for landing. This helps better use of airspace, eliminates air traffic congestion, and allows airlines to reduce fuel consumption and flight delays. 

    Sources said that the PBN procedure would be an improvement over the existing air traffic control system. The AAI has specified new routes in terms of latitudes and longitudes and has published standard arrival routes for airlines. The information will be made available to airlines in aviation documents and as electronic data. “Currently, aircraft flying into Chennai airport are guided by air traffic controllers while making a landing approach. This requires an airliner to burn more fuel because air traffic controllers often manoeuvre an approaching aircraft away from its path, to manage congestion,” said the pilot of a private airline. 

    Most modern aircraft currently used are capable of handling the PBN system. Jet Airways made its entire fleet compatible with PBN last year. Air India, too, has aircraft that are compatible. Airlines have already been given time to convert non-compatible aircraft, with AAI publishing its intention to switch over to the new procedure about 40 days ago. 

    AAI had been gearing itself up to introduce the new system for over a year; the system was slated to have been unveiled in August/September. Air traffic controllers are now being trained to handle the new system. The move is also aimed at eliminating disparity in technology between airports and airlines. 

PERFORMANCE BASED NAVIGATION 

    The Performance Based Navigation (PBN) procedure 

allows aircraft to descend from the cruising flight route onto a path to land at an airport without waiting for the air traffic controller’s instructions 

    Pre-determined feeder routes 

connecting the air routes to the airport will be provided to airlines and pilots. These will be published in aviation documents, charts and will also be available in the form of electronic data 

    The airport will 

upgrade from RNAV-10 to sophisticated RNAV-1 for PBN 

    The new system is 

being followed the world over. It helps reduce the workload of air traffic controllers since they do not have to guide the aircraft along the landing path to the airport.

Now, Air India pilots on war path over salary cut

V Ayyappan | TNN 

Sept 26:

Chennai: Hardly a fortnight after Jet Airways pilots withdrew their strike that crippled air travel for five days, Air India’s executive pilots are on the war path after the management cut their salaries and allowances. Executive pilots are those who fly, train pilots and also do administrative work. 

    Sources said the executive pilots, who are not part of the Indian Commercial Pilot’s Assocation (ICPA) since they hold managerial posts in the airline, are trying to garner the association’s support. If ICPA does not give a strike call, the executive pilots are planning to go on sick leave. The executive pilots met in the city to chart out their plans. It was to avoid a direct confrontation with ICPA that the management left the salaries of commanders and first officers whose job is only to fly aircraft untouched, while cutting the pay of only senior pilots who fly as well as do managerial work and are not members of ICPA. 

    Executive pilots, who have put in more than 20 years of service with the airline would have to face up to 75% cut in their total monthly income. “Allowances were the mainstay for us because our basic pay is very less. Training pilots have already stopped their training duties in Hyderabad. We are waiting for information from Delhi,” said an executive pilot who did not wish to be named. 

    If the executive pilots go on sick leave, south could be affected as about 50 captains who hold the posts of general managers and deputy general managers are working out of Chennai, which is the headquarters of the southern India operations of Air India. 

    ICPA is closely watching the developments. “The government and the management are responsible for the state of affairs of the airline. There is no logic in cutting salaries and allowances of executive pilots when Air India has hired around 145 expat pilots by paying salaries that are higher than the market rates. An expat draws 11,000 US dollars per month in addition to the perks like free flight tickets and accommodation,” said a pilot. 

    Executive pilots term it ‘step motherly treatment.’ “After the allowance cut, an executive pilot will take home lesser salary than a line pilot (who just flies the aircraft and does not do administrative jobs). This means a pilot with four or five years experience will get paid more than a pilot who has put in 20 years experience,” he said.

Metro Rail scouts for contractors

Process On To Identify Firms Eligible To Build Tunnels, Underground Stations Along Two Corridors

V Ayyappan | TNN 

Sept 24:

    Work on construction of the elevated corridor is progressing briskly and Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) has kicked off formalities to identify firms to build tunnels and underground stations from Washermanpet to Saidapet and from Chennai Central to Anna Nagar. 

    Though the exact locations of the stations are yet to be finalised, Metro Rail has begun the procedure of identifying the contractors or companies eligible to bid for the construction works. On Wednesday, a meeting before the pre-qualification consultations was held in the city between Metro Rail officials and prospective contractors on the bidding process and other details of the project. 

    Metro Rail has already invited applications for participating in a prequalification bid, the last date for which is November 4. Officials will scrutinise the capabilities and experience of the companies before shortlisting a couple of them to bid for the project in January 2010. “Around 50 persons representing 15 firms were present at Wednesday’s meeting. We cannot say whether they will apply or not. But they have shown interest in the project,” said a senior Metro Rail official. 

    “The invitation for bids for construction of tunnels and stations will open only after three months. But, we have started the formalities to complete procedures so that builders can be identified when the general consultant finalises the exact alignment and location of the tunnels and underground stations,” he added. 

    Twin tunnels will be constructed for a stretch of 14.3 km from Washermanpet to Saidapet along corridor one and for a stretch of 9.7 km from Chennai Central to Anna Nagar 2nd Avenue along corridor two. 

    The stations will be 250 metres long and 23 metres wide and will be located 19 metres below ground level in all places except at Chennai Central. The Station there it will be 25 metres underground. The underground stations will be at Washermanpet, Mannadi, High Court, Chennai Central, Government Estate, LIC Building, Thousand Lights, Gemini, Teynampet, Chamiers Road and Saidapet along the Washermanpet-Airport corridor I and at Chennai Central, Egmore, Nehru Park, Kilpauk Medical College, Pachaiyappa’s College, Shenoy Nagar, Anna Nagar East, Anna Nagar Tower and Tirumangalam along the Chennai Central-St Thomas Mount corridor II. 

    Recently, CMRL invited pre-qualification bids to shortlist companies to manufacture and supply snazzy stainless steel or aluminium electrical multiple units (EMUs). CMRL has specified that it would require 168 coaches or 42 train sets of four-car configuration. 

    Since the project has financial support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Metro Rail is keen on ensuring high quality at all stages of construction and operation. “Pre-qualification screening to shortlist companies to make final bid to take part in the project is one of the requirement of the JICA,” said a Metro Rail official. 

TRACKING THE METRO 

Twin tunnels will be constructed for a stretch of 14.3 km from Washermanpet to Saidapet on Corridor-I and for a stretch of 9.7 km from Chennai Central to Anna Nagar 2nd Avenue on Corridor-II 

The stations will be of 250 metres by 23 metres size 

11 stations will be underground on Corridor-I Most of the stations will be 19 metres below the ground 

Chennai Central will be the deepest, 25 metres below the ground 

Unlike Delhi Metro, Chennai Metro will use underground tunnel boring machines to bore tunnels, without cutting open the earth.