Chennai Central becomes India’s first ‘silent’ railway station

Taking a cue from airports, the station is trading the omnipresent ‘voice’ for more inquiry booths and visual display boards.

Chennai Central becomes India’s first ‘silent’ railway station

CHENNAI: The 150-year-old Dr MGR Ramachandran Central railway station in Chennai went silent on Sunday, making it the first in India to do so, as it bid adieu to the public announcement system that has guided passengers to their trains for decades. Taking a cue from airports, the station is trading the omnipresent ‘voice’ for more inquiry booths and visual display boards.

In the order announcing the change, issued on Saturday by Southern railway general manager R N Singh, officials were told to ensure all visual display boards are in working condition and to deploy sufficient staff at inquiry booths for a smooth passenger experience.

Large digital screens displaying the arrival and departure of trains in Tamil, Hindi and English have been installed at all three entry points to the station, namely, EVR Periyar Salai (MTC bus stop), suburban terminus, and Wall Tax Road (gate no 5). Concourse areas have also been covered with 40-60 inch digital boards.

The PA system will continue for suburban trains. Mentioning that the move was undertaken on an “experimental basis”, an official spokesperson of the Chennai railway division said there will be no audio from advertisements as well. “Passenger information centres manned by railway staff will guide travellers,” he said.

Mixed response from passengers on ‘silent’ Central rly station

The station handles nearly 200 express trains, including 46 pairs of daily trains, and an average daily footfall of 5.3 lakh. The voice behind Tamil announcements is of Kavitha Murugesan, a dubbing artist and college lecturer based in Erode.

The public announcement system was used for disseminating information about train arrivals, departures, delays, and location of trains. It was proved effective during accidents and natural disasters, and for passengers with visual impairments. To aid the disabled, the station has now installed braille navigation maps at its main entrance. QR codes have also been pasted across the place for persons with disabilities to access a sign language video providing an overview of the station.

A railway official said additional infrastructural improvements will be taken up based on passengers’ experience. “As part of the station redevelopment, larger display boards will be put at the entrance. Inquiry counters will also be increased,” the official said.

S Vasanth Perumal, a resident of Salem, who boarded Coimbatore-bound Intercity Express at central station, told TNIE the absence of the announcements had hardly made a difference. “Even before listening to the PA system I would look up the train departure on display boards. Without the noise, the ambience here will see a change,” he said.

R Pandiyaraja, former member, Southern Railway Users’ Consultative Committee feared it is too early for ordinary passengers to follow boards and access the station without announcement. “Rail passengers cannot be equated with air passengers,” he said.

Braille maps, QR codes for disabled For disabled passengers, the station has installed braille navigation maps at its main entrance. QR codes are pasted across the station for persons with disabilities to access a sign language video of the station’s overview. Improvements will be based on passengers’ experience, said an official

Zelenskyy fires Ukraine's commander of joint forces, gives no explanation

Zelenskyy did not provide an explanation for Moskalov's dismissal, but it's the latest in a long line of recent leadership changes made by his administration.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

KYIV: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday fired commander of joint forces operation Major Gen Eduard Mykhailovich Moskalov, reported CNN.

Moskalov had been appointed to the position last March when Lt Gen Oleksandr Pavliuk was appointed head of the Kyiv regional military administration.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy did not provide an explanation for Moskalov's dismissal, but it's the latest in a long line of recent leadership changes made by his administration, reported CNN.

Ukrainian authorities have conducted a series of anti-corruption searches and crackdowns across the country, and a variety of high-profile dismissals have followed.

It is not yet clear if Moskalov's firing was connected to the recent corruption purge, reported CNN.

In a recent development, on the first visit to Kyiv, Saudi Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud signed off on USD 400 million Ukraine aid package.

For the first time since the two countries established diplomatic relations 30 years ago, a Saudi foreign minister has visited Ukraine. President Zelenskyy's office released a video of him meeting Saudi Arabia's Prince Farhan Al Saud on Sunday, reported CNN.

Zelenskyy said he expected the meeting would "provide a new impetus to further intensification of our mutually beneficial dialogue."

"Thank you for supporting peace in Ukraine, our sovereignty, and territorial integrity," he said, adding, "This is very important for us and our society."

Saudi Arabia has steered a neutral course in the conflict. Last year, the Kingdom mediated a prisoner exchange, in which two American and five British citizens were released from Russian detention.

Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential office, called the meeting successful in a message on messaging platform Telegram.

"Ukraine will receive real help from Saudi Arabia," the Ukrainian official said. "The Presidential Office signed two documents formalizing a USD 400 million aid package to Ukraine: USD 100 million in humanitarian aid and USD 300 million in oil products," reported CNN.

Ukraine reported heavy Russian shelling in the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions this weekend, while forces are locked in brutal urban combat in the flashpoint city of Bakhmut.

Moreover, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan vowed there would be "real costs" for China if it provides lethal aid to Russia in its war on Ukraine.

"From our perspective, actually, this war presents real complications for Beijing. And Beijing will have to make its own decisions about how it proceeds, whether it provides military assistance. But, if it goes down that road, it will come at real costs to China. And I think China's leaders are weighing that as they make their decisions," Sullivan told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union."

In diplomatic conversations with China, he added, the US is "not just making direct threats. We're just laying out both the stakes and the consequences, how things would unfold. And we are doing that clearly and specifically behind closed doors."

Sullivan's comments come at a critical juncture in the war in Ukraine. The US has intelligence that the Chinese government is considering providing Russia with drones and ammunition for use in the war, three sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN.

It does not appear that Beijing has made a final decision yet, the sources said, as negotiations between Russia and China about the price and scope of the equipment are ongoing.

Since invading Ukraine, Russia has repeatedly requested drones and ammunition from China, the sources familiar with the intelligence said, and Chinese leadership has been actively debating over the last several months whether or not to send the lethal aid, the sources added.

CIA Director Bill Burns said the US is "confident" Beijing is considering such a move, but intelligence suggests no final decision has been made, reported CNN.

Meanwhile, Burns said the CIA is also seeing signs that Russia is proposing to help Iran on its missile program in exchange for military aid.

Malayali farmer Biju Kurian who went missing in Israel returns home

On Feb 17, Biju Kurian went missing from Israel on the day the delegation was scheduled to return to Kerala.

Biju Kurian, the Kerala-based farmer, who went missing in Israel.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Biju Kurian, the Kannur Iritty-based farmer who went missing in Israel as part of the 28-member State Government delegation, reached Karipur airport on Monday morning. Later he told reporters in front of his home that he was not deported, but returned willingly.

The State Government has set out a sigh of relief after the safe return of 48-year-old Biju Kurian. He reached Karipur airport from Tel Aviv via Bahrain on a Gulf Air flight at 4 am. His brother, Benny Kurian, a practising lawyer in Kannur, was there to receive him at the airport. "I returned voluntarily, none had deported me. It was my brother who met my flight ticket expenses. I stayed back in Israel to visit the religious places there", said Biju Kurian.

The 28-member farmer's delegation was led by State Agricultural Production Commissioner B Ashok on a five-day State-funded training programme on modern agricultural practices including precision farming and hydroponics.

On Feb 17, Biju Kurian went missing from Israel on the day the delegation was scheduled to return to Kerala. Following the State Government taking up the issue before the centre, the Israel Government took up the absconding of Biju Kurian seriously. This led the Indian embassy in Tel Aviv to spring into action.

Mossad, the Israel Police, had traced Biju Kurian to a village in Israel, which has a sizable population of Malayali community, who works mainly as caregivers. The Indian Embassy was also informed about zeroing in on Biju Kurian who was deported back to Kerala.

The central Government had assured their Israel counterpart that they will not take any action against Biju Kurian. This led them to deport the farmer. He will be produced before the Police and after recording his statement, he will be freed.