One of the country’s largest infrastructure projects, the railways Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFCC), has been promised a whopping $2.5 billion by the World Bank for it. This money will be used to build the eastern corridor of this ambitious project which also has on the anvil the construction of a western freight corridor.

The Railways has snatched away the entire task of catering for its trains from the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a public sector enterprise and decided to do the job itself. This significant decision was unveiled by the Railways new catering policy which was announced here on Thursday.

The mystery of Monday’s train collision at the Sainthia railway station West Bengal has deepened.

The railways “running staff” which includes the crucial category of loco pilots (train drivers) is crucial for the safe running of trains. And yet, it is this very important band of railway employees that appears to be battling not only a shortage of hands but also increased pressure when new trains are introduced.

Railway minister Mamata Banerjee needs to take out time from her preoccupation with West Bengal, “sabotage” and “conspiracy” theories and ensure that her ministry takes a hard look at the signalling aspect of Indian Railways, which is crucial for the safe running of trains.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has directed that land acquisition for the ambitious dedicated freight corridor project of the railways to be speeded up.

In his famous poem Sonar Tori (golden boat), Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore wrote, “Oh to what foreign land do you sail? Come to the bank and moor your boat for a while....”. Now, a different kind of “golden boat” is all set to “sail” when Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee travels in a special train from Kolkata to Dhaka on August 7 next month.

For now, it may sound like a distant dream. But imagine a squeaky-clean railway station, with comfy chairs in a sprawling hall for passengers while they wait to board their trains. Shops tidily lined across the hall where one can pop in to while away time and escalators to help ease the walk to the train. And, of course, none of the hustle

Once built, the bridge across the Anji Nullah in J&K will be the longest and tallest single span arch bridge in the country. The railways is hoping that its construction, delayed by two years owing to safety concerns, is resumed, now that the safety issues have been addressed.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Andhra Pradesh slated for later this week is off. The PMO, however, was careful to say on Monday evening that the visit has merely been postponed, not cancelled and would take place in the near future.