The Bundelkhand Vikas Sena in Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh, has put forth a list of demands to improve railway passenger amenities. These include extending the foot overbridge to the railway ticket office, opening the gate in front of the ticket office, increasing toilet facilities on platforms 2 and 3, making closed toilets...
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operational and maintaining them, and relocating the goods depot to prevent accidents and traffic jams. The Sena also demanded the stoppage of weekly trains including the 12625/12626 Kerala Express, 12617/12618 Mangala Express and 12155/12156 Night Queen Express for the convenience of passengers. Mahendra Agnihotri, Sudesh Nayak, Harish Khanna, Rajkumar Kushwaha, Amar Singh Bundela, Rajnish Purohit, Devendra Aira, Parvez Pathan, Nandram Kushwaha, Vinod Sahu, etc. were present during the demand presentation.

There are two good news for railway passengers. First, a trial run was conducted on Wednesday on the newly constructed 38 km line under the Lalitpur-Singrauli railway project of West Central Railway. Second, the Bilaspur-Bhopal and Rewa-Chirmiri Expresses (both trains operating via Katni) are being restored earlier than expected. The resumption...
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of train operations will provide relief to passengers during the festive season. The new railway line between Satna-Barethia stations in Jabalpur division has been completed. Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) Manoj Arora inspected the newly constructed railway line. The engine was run at a speed of 110 km per hour to test the strength of the new railway line. The Jabalpur-Ambikapur Intercity Express (11265) will return to service on October 11th. The Railway had cancelled three trains due to track infrastructure work on the Katni-Shahdol rail section. The Jabalpur-Ambikapur Intercity was cancelled from 2nd to 11th October. CRS examined the technical aspects of the track in detail. This was to see if the railway line was ready for the operation of normal trains. During this, CRS checked the signal system, power supply system, OHE line, and quality of yard operations. CRS expressed satisfaction with the arrangements. Train operations on the new railway line will commence as soon as permission is obtained. This was the third consecutive day of CRS inspection of the newly constructed railway line in West Central Railway. On October 7th, CRS inspected the 7.5 km new line in the Joba-Madwasgram rail section under the Katni-Singrauli doubling project. On October 8th, he inspected the 12.8 km new line constructed between Aslana-Damoh on the third line project on the Katni Bina rail section. Construction work on all proposed new railway lines is being carried out at a rapid pace. Along with the railway line, the necessary infrastructure is also being expanded. Upon completion of these new projects, the speed of train operations will increase. Passenger and freight transportation facilities will improve. The restoration of the trains is being done one day earlier than expected. The Railway has completed the work of connecting the third rail path from Birsinghpur station on the Katni-Shahdol rail section ahead of schedule. Due to this, it has been decided to restore the cancelled trains one day earlier. The cancellation of the only direct train between Jabalpur-Ambikapur affected passengers of eight districts connected by the rail route. The restored trains will operate according to their regular timetable. The Bilaspur-Bhopal Express (18236) will run on October 10th. The Bhopal-Bilaspur Express (18235) will run on October 12th. The Jabalpur-Ambikapur Intercity (11265) will run on October 11th. The Ambikapur-Jabalpur Intercity (11266) will run on October 12th. The Rewa-Chirmiri Express (11751) will run on October 11th. The Chirmiri-Rewa Express (11752) will run on October 12th.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court heard a case regarding land acquisition for the Lalitpur-Singrauli rail line. The court directed the SDM Devser to respond within 28 days, calling the case serious. The petitioner, DP Shukla from Devser, alleged that the compensation awarded for acquired land was not paid to him but...
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instead to the bank accounts of relatives of the SDM's subordinate staff and police officials. Shukla claimed that he and other local residents have been fighting legally for a long time over irregularities in land acquisition. This issue gained media attention with reports published in newspapers, prompting the Chief Minister to form an investigation team headed by the Rewa Commissioner. Despite the probe, the victims believe it was a cover-up to protect departmental officials.

A meeting was held on September 13th in Jabalpur with MPs from the Jabalpur Railway Division and the General Manager of West Central Railway, Shobhana Bandopadhyay, to discuss passenger amenities and railway infrastructure development. MPs commended the improvements made to passenger amenities in recent years. MPs made various requests...
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including the introduction of a Vande Bharat train between Jabalpur and Raipur, restarting trains halted due to the pandemic, and including Ghada, Gwari Ghat, and Bargi stations in WCR instead of SECR. The meeting was attended by MPs from Mandla, Satna, Jabalpur, Narmadapuram, Sagar, Damoh, Sidhi, and the Rajya Sabha. Other MPs sent their suggestions through representatives. The meeting highlighted the ongoing development work in the division, including the Amrit Bharat Station scheme, which will upgrade 53 stations across WCR, including 15 in the Jabalpur division. The initiative includes major upgrades to Jabalpur and Satna stations. Additionally, a 'One Station, One Product' scheme was introduced to promote local goods, and 'Prime Minister Bharatiya Janaushadhi Kendra' centers were opened at Madan Mahal, Bina, and Sawai Madhopur stations for providing affordable and generic medicines. MPs provided suggestions, including completing infrastructure projects on time, a stopover for the overnight express between Jabalpur and Indore at Shriram station, restarting halted trains, running passenger trains from Jabalpur to various destinations, and including Ghada, Gwari Ghat, and Bargi stations in WCR. Further suggestions included a Vande Bharat train between Jabalpur and Raipur, a direct train from Jabalpur to Amritsar, daily operation of the MP Sampark Kranti train, and a stop for the Somnath and Garibrath Express trains at Madan Mahal station. Satna's MP also advocated for cleanliness at stations, female guards on passenger trains, and reopening stopovers for trains that were halted during the pandemic.

The Ministry of Railways has released the regular budget pink book detailing expenditures and receipts allocated to all zonal railways. The West Central Railway's regular budget for 2024-25 includes a significant allocation of ₹1107 crore for the Jabalpur-Indore new railway line project. The total net planned outlay for West Central...
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Railway in this budget is ₹9491 crore, an increase of ₹93 crore from the interim budget of ₹9398 crore allocated in February. The breakdown of the allocated funds includes ₹2480 crore for new lines, ₹1372 crore for doubling/tripling, ₹140 crore for traffic facilities and yard remodeling, ₹15 crore for road safety work (level crossings), ₹627 crore for road safety work (RUB/ROB), ₹970 crore for track renewal, ₹121 crore for bridge and tunnel work, ₹236 crore for signal and telecommunication, ₹105 crore for electrical work (TRD), ₹379 crore for passenger facilities, and ₹103 crore for factories and production units.