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he trial of Spanish train Talgo, the lighter and faster vehicle with speed up to 115 km per hour, was conducted between Bareilly and Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh as part of the Railways' strategy to increase the speed of trains. "It was a smooth ride," said a senior railway official after nine Talgo coaches were hauled by a 4,500 HP diesel engine on the 90-km line for the first trial run. The train left Bareilly at 9.05 AM, moved at a speed ranging between 80-115 km per hour, and reached Moradabad at 10.15 AM, the official said. As of now, the Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani Express runs at an average speed of 85 km per hour. Besides reducing travel time, Talgo's lighter trains consume 30 per cent less energy. The nine-coach Talgo train consists of two Executive Class cars, four Chair Cars, a cafeteria, a power car and a tail-end coach for staff and equipment. Hamid Akhtar, Executive Director of Railways' Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) who was...

In an apparent reply those questioning his government's performance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi om Sunday said his two-year dispensation had initiated over 700 schemes and even if some tasks remain undone, "I will not let the nation go on the wrong path". Addressing a public meeting as part of 'vikas parv' (development festival) on completion of two years of his government, he asserted that he would "never go on the path of sins" as he charged that the previous government had "yielded" to pressure from various lobbies, including diesel and petrol ones. Slamming the critics who "started questioning his work" even when he had not seen my office properly, Modi said his government's programmes are mostly for the benefit of farmers and poor people, besides ending the role of middlemen, including in jobs. "My government had not completed even one week in office and some people started questioning its work. We were asked to ...

For Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) title for the first time was like sun rising at midnight, as they beat three-time finalists Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by eight runs in an exciting contest at the Chinnaswamy stadium on Sunday night. Winning the toss and putting up a challenging target of 209 for Royals, Hyderabad bowlers showed their mettle by halting RCB's star-studded batting line up at 200 for 7 wickets in 20 overs, though they were plundered by RCB openers Chris Gayle and skipper Virat Kohli, who posted 114 in first 10 overs. Powering into the IPL final for the third time after knocking two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the eliminator by 22 runs on May 25 and taming debutant Gujarat Lions in the second qualifier by four wickets on May 27 in New Delhi, Sunrisers had won the title on sheer self-belief, grit and determination. "When Gayle was going great guns, we knew it was difficult to stop him. The hardest thing ...

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa on Thursday led her AIADMK to a second five-year term, convincingly defeating a divided opposition and proving wrong exit polls that predicted her ouster. “I am overwhelmed by the resounding victory given by the people. My party and I are indebted to the people of Tamil Nadu,” an emotive Jayalalithaa said as the AIADMK cruised to victory in 134 of the 232 assembly seats. “After 1984, no ruling party in the state has been able to win an election and form the government for a successive term,” she added. The actor-turned-politician, who is known to nurture larger national political ambitions, said there was no word in dictionary to describe her feelings. The victory “is truly historic”. The DMK-Congress combine which had hoped to unseat Jayalalithaa had to settle for 97 seats, with the Congress tally getting reduced to just eight. A solitary seat went to DMK ally, the Indian Union Muslim League.

The Left parties, which went into the election riding on an informal understanding with the Congress, have suffered a crushing defeat in West Bengal. The “jot”, as the alliance was popularly called, worked on a seat-sharing model, in which the workers of both parties ostensibly worked together for the joint candidate. But within hours of the results pouring in, faultlines between the two partners have already started appearing. Some CPM leaders have alleged that while their “disciplined” workers ensured the Congress candidates did well, Congress workers didn’t reciprocate. “We are still analysing the results and getting information from the districts so it is very difficult to tell what has happened,’’ said CPM MP Mohammad Salim, who was one of the main faces of the Left’s campaign this election. But as leaders remained huddled inside Muzaffar Bhavan on Alimuddin Street, several theories have started doing the rounds. The BJP, which had made inroads due to a Modi wave in 2014, lost...

CPI(M)-led LDF regained power in Kerala cruising to a comfortable majority by inflicting a massive drubbing to the ruling Congress-headed UDF in the assembly polls which also saw BJP scripting history by opening its account in the state assembly. LDF won 91 of the 140 assembly seats at stake. The result of Wadakkancherry is yet to be declared officially where UDF candidate Anil Akkara has won by a margin of just three votes. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) won 85 seats on its own and another six by independents fielded by the opposition front. 93-year-old V S Achutanandan, the face of the LDF campaign and CPI(M) polit bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan, Thomas Issac, E P Jayarajan and actor Mukesh are among prominent winners in the LDF. BJP’s leader and former Union minister O Rajagopal won from Nemom by defeating CPI(M) MLA V Sivankutty by a margin of 8,671 votes. Adding to the Congress agony is the defeat of Chandy ministers like Shibu Baby John, KP Mohanan and K Babu.