Bits and Pieces
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Saturday, December 11, 2004  

IRFCA

WDM-2 #18533 from Erode hauling the Okha - Ernakulam Express

Ever since Ramesh mentioned this group's existence, I had wanted to post a piece here. Cannot stop raving about their coverage. Indian Railways Fans Club. As exhaustive an Indian Railways resource as it can get. I am stunned, almost always, listening to their technical discussion and have thoroughly enjoyed the huge photo collection [makes you long for home]. While I recommend patient exploration of the site here are some that I learnt recently from the site and the group's Yahoo Community (which now has 1962 members):

> Think of Indian Railways and you wonder if it is really that difficult to glamorize the giant. Appreciably, efforts are on and here's a sample.

> An Indian relation to Railways in Iraq - Picture taken in 1967.

> "The Royal Saloon...an ambitious project to promote tourism in the Central Indian region,the Narrow Gauge Royal Saloon takes people on a three day odyssey from Nagpur to Jabalpur and back. This train was also started as part of the 150 year celebrations of the Indian Railways." [video page]

> Farewell to Chennai's Meter Gauge EMUs.

> Delhi Metro has generated interest among many. In action [video page - try IE if it doesnt open in Firefox]. Photo galleries from the Official site and IRFCA.

> Discussions on, with the Japanese relating to Bullet Trains in India [including
Chennai-B'glore route]. Finally, benefits of IT revolution trickling down.

> The newly opened Railway Call Center [Dial 139] at B'glore has been getting 27,500 to 29,000 calls every 24 hours. A Laloo special!

[Picture courtesy: IRFCA. Thanks Bharath Moro]

posted by pradeep | Permalink | (7)

7 Comments:

You hit the nail on its head...this site does make you nostalgic and homesick...

By Blogger Nth Dimension, at 7:15 PM 

Yeah u know well.

By Blogger pradeep, at 12:13 AM 

speechless.....

By Blogger saranyan r, at 8:59 AM 

Yeah, lack of recognition - this has been true for almost all public sector organizations. I am hopeful that things will change with this coming generation.
Thanks for the suggestion Jagan, but a dedicated IR blog is beyond me. Think Ramesh can do a better job at that (what say Daph?). On our part, we'll discuss stuff from time to time.
On the other hand, IR blog is a wonderful idea. Dont know why the IRFCA guys havent taken to it. Lemme suggest.

By Blogger pradeep, at 5:41 PM 

Indian Railways blog is a terrific idea...something worth chewing on...

By Blogger Nth Dimension, at 2:22 AM 

Great link and yes, a revelation. I did know about the vastness of the IR network but never did I know so much about it. And yes, an IR blog would be awesome if there is enough information to write about on a regular long term basis.

By Blogger The Last Blogger, at 9:19 AM 

Sure there are lots of stuff happening to keep an IR blog running. If this is just a sample, readership shouldnt be an issue...blogs certainly allows a wider reach.

On a solemn note, the Punjab-accident comes as a total dampener. Protecting lives is so fundamental. Hope Laloo works as much as he speaks.

Somebody on the Yahoo Community observed that unlike earlier times, the official IR website has improved in providing quick and detailed information to help relatives identify victims.

By Blogger pradeep, at 5:55 PM 

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