Railways not keen on getting back Matheran’s first ever locomotive

Rajendra B Aklekar @timesgroup.com TWEETS @rajtoday  http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=MIRRORNEW&BaseHref=MMIR/2014/04/15&PageLabel=10&EntityId=Ar01002&ViewMode=HTML     The Indian Railways on Monday said they are not interested in buying one of the first four original steam locomotives of the heritage Matheran Light Railway (MLR) which have been put up on sale by the Railworld Museum at Peterborough, UK. The MLR 740 has been in the museum for the past thirty years.      On April 10, Mirror had reported that the present-day generation of Sir AdamjeePeerbhoy,whobuilttheNeral-Matheran railway route over a century ago, wanted the railways and the government to bring back an original locomotivethatoperatedontheMLR.      “We will not be interested in buying the engine as we already several of a similar type here,” Subodh Jain, railway board member (engineering), told Mumbai Mirror.      The present-day generation of the Peerbhoy family was not happy with the railways’ decision. “First of all, the locomotive should not have gone out of India. But now that it is up for sale, it needs to be brought back by the railways,” said Ali Akbar Adamjee Peerbhoy, the second great grandson of Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy.      “The locos had been bought by the Peerbhoy family, how could the Indian Railways give it out to another country? If I remember correctly, the engine had been put up on display outside CST, then one day it was removed,” Ali Akbar added.      The MLR 740 was donated to Britain by the Indian government in 1985 in recognition of services towards the establishment of India’s National Railway Museum. The engine was acquired by the Amberley Chalk Pits Museum and arrived in UK on November 28, 1986. It was donated to Railworld Museum in 1991.      Sources said the four novel steam locomotives had been bought specially for the mountainous stretch from Messrs. Orienstein & Koppel, Germany, in 1907. They were made especially for the narrow curves and steep climbs of the Matheran hills.      Of the original four engines – MLR 738, MLR 739, MLR 740, MLR 741 --that survive today, MLR 740 has been in the UK for the last three decades. The Railworld Museum said that the locomotive will be sold to someone with the resources and commitment to restore and operate the Berlin-built locomotive with access to the public. The sale is being managed on behalf of the trustees by The International Railway Preservation Society (IRPS). The engine arriving in Peterborough The century-old engine has been in the UK for the past 30 years

‘Address proof for all season tickets will lead to delays, fights’

Virat A Singh virat.singh@timesgroup.com TWEET @singhvirat246 

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    Adirective from Railway Board, asking both the Western and Central Railway to start noting down the addresses of commuters who buy season passes, is likely to lengthen queues and lead to other complications at ticket counters. 
    While the directive was come into effect from April, it is being implemented gradually across railway stationsonboththeWesternandCentralRailway.Sources said WR has been trying to convey to the Railway Board that the new requirement will lead to many complications. 
    A senior railway official said the directive was the outcome of an order of the Allahabad High Court to ensure that officials in all railway zones note down the addresses of commuters when issuing new season tickets or renewing old ones. He said, “The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), which handles the systems, first said that there was not enough space on season passes to display commuters' addresses. It then made arrangements to do so, but said the system will not be able to handle long addresses and that booking clerk will have to note down such addresses on paper when issuing season tickets." The official added that of the 70 lakh WR and CR commuters, around 48 lakh are season ticet holders. 
    AWR official said that apart from the delays, the system will be impossible to implement in Mumbai owing to its large migrant population. “We are still not completely clear on what kind of address proof will be accepted. Booking clerks have already started telling us they do not want to fight with commuters over this and hence we have asked our senior officials to implement the new system only after there is clarity on this. Otherwise there could be huge fights at booking counters,” warned the official. 
    Meanwhile, booking clerks are already wary of the new system, saying that noting down the address of every season ticket holder will cause huge delays. Under the current system, an ID card is issued to season ticket holders, on which they are expected to write their addresses. 
    “We try to issue at least three tickets per minute and still there are long queues. If we have to note down addresses as well, it will take even more time and people in queue will get agitated,” said a booking clerk, who did not wish to be named. 
    A CR official, however, said the delays caused by the newsystemwillbetemporary.“Foreveryaddressadded to the database, a will be code generated, and from the nexttimeonwards,therewillbenoneedforcommuters tofurnishingtheiraddressproof.Weshouldalsoseethe positive aspects,” said the official.

Alarmed by frequent instances of signal jumping and trains overshooting platforms WR seeks TLC at home for its tired motormen DRM appeals to motormen’s families to not saddle his employees with domestic chores. Angry motormen say he is ignoring real issues that cause stress

Rajendra.Aklekar@timesgroup.com TWEETS @_MumbaiMirror 

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    The Western Railway’s suburban section has earned the dubious distinction of reporting the highest number of cases of signal jumping and trains overshooting platforms, a clear sign of plummeting safety standards. And WR bosses have been quick to put a finger on the root cause of this problem – lack of tender love and care for motormen when they return home stressed after a day’s work. 
    In a move that has angered motormen, Divisional Railway Manager Shailendra Kumar has issued an appeal to motormen’s families to not burden his employees with household chores so that they are able to rest well and return to work reinvigorated. The appeal, copies of which have been put up in the motormen’s lobby at Churchgate, also urges motormen’s families to create a healthy atmosphere at home, conducive to relaxation. 
    The Western Railway Motormen’s Association (WRMA), which is now in the process of sending its reply to the appeal, has objected to the divisional railway manager linking WR’s safety record to the motormen’s domestic lives. TheWMAhasalsotakenexceptiontotheboss’s expectation that they should ignore their families to improve performance at work. 
    The WMA, in its reply to the appeal, will list the ‘real’ factors responsible for the slipping safety record, as also the working conditions that leave the motormen and other running staff like guards and long-distance train drivers stressed. “It’s ridiculous that now our families are being blamed for Western Railway’s slipping safety performance. In which other line of workareemployeesadvisedtoignoretheirfamilies?Canthesameyardstickapplytooursenior officers,” asked a motorman who did not wish to be identified. 
    Motormen said that its work pressure and the long hours working hours that contribute to stress and lead to cases of signal jumping and trains overshooting platforms. “We have been demanding an assistant driver for each train for quite some time now. The responsibility of a jam-packed train on a single person is too heavy.” 
    What has rattled the divisional manager is the fact that that the 12 instances of ‘signal jumping’ in WR’s suburban section in 2013-14 is the highest in India across the railway’s all four divisions. “It is a worrying statistic, no doubt about it. But our families are not responsible for this. It’s the working conditions that causestress.Don’tweallworksothatweareable to look after our families well,” asked another motorman. 
    The motormen have also been upset by a veiled threat in the appeal. The note says that the safety violations committed by the motormen lead to disciplinary action against the motormen and this can impact the entire family. 
    In a retaliatory strike, the motormen have decided to get their wives to write to the divisional railway manager with their views on his appeal. 
    When Mumbai Mirror contacted the divisional railway manager on Friday, he refused to commentontheappeal.Hesaidhedidnotwish to say anything as the appeal is self-explanatory.

The DRM’s appeal urging family members to not involve motormen in domestic routines

Matheran’s first ever locomotive up for sale, family wants govt to bid The family of Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, who built the Neral-Matheran railway route over a century ago, have said that they want the inaugural engine, which is in the UK, back

Rajendra B Aklekar rajendra.aklekar@timesgroup.com TWEETS @rajtoday 

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    The present-day generation of Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, who built the Neral-Matheran railway route over a century ago, want the Indian Railways and the government to make an effort to bring back an original locomotive that operated on the heritage Matheran Light Railway. 
    The steam locomotive — one of the original four — has been in the UK for the past 30 years, and has now been put up for sale by the Railworld Museum at Peterborough, England. 
    While no reserve price has been set for the loco, the sale will be executedviainformaltenders,thedeadline for submission of which is June 30. Railworld Museum says the sale willbetoanewownerwhohastheresources and the commitment to restore and operate the Berlin-built locomotive and provide access to the public. The sale is being managed on behalf of the trustees by The International Railway Preservation Society. 
    Sources said there were four novel steam locomotives that the Peerbhoy family had bought specially for the mountainous stretch from MessrsOrienstein&Koppel,Germany. These were specifically built for the narrow curves and steep climbs of the Matheran hills. Of the original four engines — MLR 738 is stationed at Neral and is still used occasionally on the route for special tours, MLR 739 is at National Railway Museum in New Delhi, MLR 741 stands outside Matheran station, while MLR 740 is the one in UK. 
    Built in 1907, the 19.97-km stretchbetweenNeralandMatheran in Raigad district of Maharashtra has been included by UNESCO in its tentative heritage list among mountain railways of India. 
    “The Neral-Matheran railway is our family’s creation and we would like the government to honour Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy by getting this original locomotive back to India,” said Ali Akbar Adamjee Peerbhoy, a great-grandsonofthePeerbhoyfamily, who shuttle between Matheran andClareRoadatBycullawherethey live. 
    Comprising two sisters, Fatima and Zainab, and three sons, Husain, Ali Akbar and Ali Asgar, the family own the Khatija Resorts at Matheran,runacharityinSaurashtra,anda school near Neral. 
    They also resent the attitude of the authorities towards the quaint railwayanditsfounder.“EventhelocomotivethatstandsoutsideMatheran station today does not bear the Peerbhoy name. The Railways should at least install an adequate plaque at the site,” Ali Akbar added. 
    When Mirror contacted Indian Railways Executive Director (Heritage) Manu Goel, he said he was yet tohearabouttheupcomingsale,and wouldhavetoinquireaboutitbefore commenting. 
    Meanwhile, Phil Marshall of the International Railway Preservation Society, said, The locomotive is currently dismantled and in secure storage following a comprehensive condition survey by a third party. The boiler report and basic mechanical assessment are available to interested parties, and inspections of the locomotive can be arranged.” 
    Asked about the expected price, Marshall said, “As the sale evoked considerable interest, we decided not to set a reserve price. We want to ensure that the loco is restored and that the public will have access to it. Assuch,wewillalsotakeintoconsideration the future uses of the loco.” 
    Echoing the Peerbhoy family’s sentiments is Prof Dr Balkrishna Bhosaleofthesociologydepartment of Mumbai University, who is writing a book on the history of Matheran and its railway. “This is the chance…. we should buy the locomotive and restore it. It’s a matter of shamethatthelocomotiveisoutside India. The Indian Railways must make a bid for it,” Prof Bhosale said. 
    Built in 1907, the locos were very successful and the fleet of four worked the line exclusively until the introduction of diesel engines in 1965. Thereafter, the steam locomotives continued in service for some time, until they were withdrawn in 1982. 
    The MLR 740 was donated to Britain by the Government of India in 1985 in recognition of services towards the establishment of India’s National Railway Museum. The engine was acquired by the Amberley Chalk Pits Museum and arrived in UKonNovember28,1986.Itwasdonated to Railworld Museum, Peterborough, in 1991.

The century-old engine has been in the UK for the past 30 years