Patna-Delhi Rajdhani Express to get a new look

The Indian Railways are gearing up to upgrade the Patna-Delhi Rajdhani Express under the new program called Project Swarn and trains under this category will start running from the last week of September. Under the program the premier train will get a complete makeover and will get some new facilities like trolley service for catering and on-board entertainment in the form of movies and music.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 29 June 2017.

The makeover is believed to be a 3-month program and will bring change to 10 areas namely - coach interiors, toilets, on-board cleanliness, punctuality, catering, linen, staff behaviour, security, on-board entertainment and real time feedback. The railway board has granted approval for up to Rs 1 crore for renovation of the Rajdhani Express. A total of 30 trains will get the upgrades - that is 15 eachj of the Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains.
The decision is taken in view of the forthcoming festive season during which passengers can be provided with the best possible services.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

East Coast Railway to run 186 special trains during Rath Yatra

Tax on the 326-year-old Jagannathpur Mela waived

Pollution in Subarnarekha river a matter of concern


He loved model planes and aero modeling

He practices homeopathy with a smile

My friends who used to sell saris


The Big Sick is Anupam Kher’s 500th film

Suicide Squad 2 - the sequel - to start shooting in 2018

Shooting started in Paris for Tom Cruise starrer 'Mission Impossible 6'


900 migrants rescued off the coast of Libya by coast guards

Death toll in the London Tower fire rises to 30, could go up to 100

ISIS carries out its first attack on Iran - at least 12 dead

Bullet can wait, Talgo is here - travel Mumbai to Delhi in 13-hours, much faster than Rajdhani Express

Yes, the Bullet Train can wait. In order to run Bullet trains, it would be necessary to redesign the route and tracks to accept high speeds. But, Spain's Talgo will make use of existing facilities. It is here and can cover Mumbai to Delhi in just 13 hours - much faster than the Rajdhani Express that takes nearly 16 hours to cover the distance of 1384-Km. Rajdhani travels at 130kmph while Talgo travels at 180kmph.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 27 July 2016.

As things stand, a Mumbai to Delhi train journey within 13 hours could become a reality in the first week of August. The final phase of trials of the nine-coach Talgo Spanish-manufactured high speed train will make three trips between Mumbai and Delhi between August 1 and 5.
The schedule as given by Western Railway (WR) is - it will depart from New Delhi at 7.55 pm on August 1, and will maintain a speed of 130 kmph during the entire journey. At this speed, the distance of 1,384 kms will be covered in 14 hours and 5 minutes. The Rajdhani Express touches 130 kmph and takes nearly 16 hours to cover the same distance.
The composition of the nine-coach Talgo train would be two executive class compartments, four chair cars, a cafeteria, a power car, and a tail-end coach for equipment. Incidentally, the train has already completed the Mathura-Palwal test run at 180 kmph.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Efforts on by Odisha to get UNESCO Heritage tag for Bhitarkanika national park

Alitalia pilot refused to fly from Beirut to Rome because he was tired - passengers stuck for 16 hours at Beirut

Wildfire in California spreads over 11,000 acres - residents evacuated


Didi not happy seeing urchins in Howrah Station (satire)

Lord Shiva stumped by the sea of humanity on 21st (satire)

Moody embraces yoga, his medics could embrace poverty (satire)

Lone wolf attack in Munich mall kills 10 including the attacker

Youth attacks train commuters with an axe - leaves more than 20 injured, some seriously

ISIS carries out suicide attack in Kabul - 80 killed, death toll could rise


Sir Michael Caine forced to change his name because of ISIS

Irrfan Khan meets Arvind Kejriwal before release of his film 'Madaari'

Kissing scenes in movies – why this fad has never caught on in Bollywood

Gang of ATM thieves nabbed - they had looted 14 ATMs in 18 days

It was a gang of daring ATM thieves who had robbed 14 ATMS within a period of just 18 days and siphoned way nearly one crore of rupees. The 30-year-old young man who is suspected to be the kingpin of the gang was arrested in Dhanbad, 269-Km from Calcutta as he was boarding the Rajdhani Express.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 26 May 2016.

The thefts were carried out between May 1 and May 18 in Calcutta, Barrackpore, Howrah and North 24-Parganas. It was the assembly elections when the police had been diverted to take care of poll related activities. All but two of the ATMs that had been targeted belonged to nationalised banks and none of them had guards.
Their modus operandi was to move from one location to another in a hired four-wheeler. They carried with them an oxygen cylinder, a small stove and steel-cutting equipment. One member of the gang would get off the car and pull the shutter of the ATM half down - that was to mislead anyone watching by giving an impression that the ATM was being refilled. Once inside, the man would switch off the CCTV camera. By then, the others would join him and they would split open the ATM vault with a gas cutter.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Some more interesting links -

World's smallest porpoise of Mexico is on the verge of extinction

Coca-Cola to stop production of its beverage in Venezuela because of sugar shortage

Melting of Totten Glacier due to global warming could raise sea levels by three meters


Moody’s mind flits from Black Money to White House (satire)

Lord Shiva and Durga on home delivery and drones (satire)

Didi plans new conquests via Rabindrasangeet (satire)


Daniel Craig is through with James Bond - turns down £68 million offer from MGM

Snoop Dogg and Lucy Liu will be seen together in thriller 'Future World'

Kavita Kaushik to play the role of an Army doctor in TV show “Dr. Bhanumati on Duty”


Was the EgyptAir crash an act of terrorism by the ISIS?

Suicide bombings in Baghdad kill 43 - brings total death in 7 days to more than 145

One more Chibok girl rescued - she was kidnapped along with 275 others in April 2014

Rajdhani Express to drop a pantry car each to accommodate additional AC-III coach

The Indian Railways is gradually moving towards eliminating pantry cars and embracing e-catering. As a first step, it has decided to withdraw one pantry car each from seven Rajdhani expresses. These will include the ones from Howrah and Sealdah. The pantry car would be dropped to accommodate an extra AC-III tier coach. This will come into effect immediately.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 25 March 2016.

The on-board catering system is always coming in for criticism due to its poor quality of not just food but also service irrespective of which party holds the portfolio of the railways and the Railway Board claims this is the first step towards granting more freedom to Rajdhani passengers in choosing the food they wish to have during the journey. As a result of this decision, breakfast can no longer be prepared on the train and will have to be picked up from a station late in the night and served in the morning. Related service will also be a problem because the catering staff and cleaners used to be accommodated in the pantry cars at night.
From all appearances, it is seen as the first step towards removing pantry cars totally from Rajdhani trains and promote e-catering that has come up at all major stations.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Some more interesting links -

Lord Shiva wants to be the King of good times (satire)

Moody gets a call from Uncle Sam and takes a trip to Mars (satire)

Narad queers the pitch for Didi & Co (satire)


Budget airline from Dubai crashes during landing in Russia - 62 killed

A 1939 Japanese Lilliput robot and Flash Gordon spaceship up for auction

Gujarat Police learn the finer points of crime from hardened criminals


Star Wars Episode VIII to get delayed till December 2017

Antonio Banderas gifted a pair of monkeys to Salma Hayek on her birthday

Frieda Pinto talks about 'Jungle Book - Origins'


Clash between people of a Roma settlement of Tula and Russian riot police

President Obama imposes tough sanctions on North Korea

Terror attack in Ankara kills at least 37 - one suicide bomber was a 22-year-old woman