To offer economical and luxurious AC Travel experience, Indian Railways’ new 3AC Economy coach begins its services in Train No. 02403 Prayagraj- Jaipur Express today

Indian Railways has always been committed to the convenient travel of its passengers by developing coaches with improved passenger friendly features. The new entrant to this developmental journey of Indian Railways is AC Three Tier Economy Class Coach. The new coach has started to offer its service from today.  First time, the coach has been attached to Train No.02403 Prayagraj- Jaipur Express. The new AC Economy coach has 83 berths as compared to 72 berths in 3AC Coach. Also, the fare structure for this coach is 8% lesser than 3AC Coach.

Soon, two more trains, Train No. 02429/02430 New Delhi-Lucknow AC special and Train No. 02229/02230 Lucknow Mail will be augmented with this new 3AC Economy coach.  Initially, 50 new Economy coaches manufactured by Rail Coach Factory, Kaputhala, are ready to offer services in Mail/Express trains over different zones.

Provision of entry into the coach and disabled friendly toilet in a wheel chair has been made, which is a new initiative.

Several design improvements have also been made for improving passenger comfort. Redesign of the AC ducting has been made by providing individual vents for all berths. Improved and modular design of seats and berths have been made to improve comfort, reduce weight of the coach and improve maintenance friendliness.

Improved passenger conveniences has been ensured in form of foldable snack tables in both longitudinal and transverse bays, injury free spaces and holders for water bottles, mobile phone. Individual reading lights and USB charging points are provided for each berth. A new ergonomically improved design of ladder for accessing the middle and upper berths has been provided too. There is a increased headroom in the middle and upper berths.

The toilet area has improved design of the Indian and the Western style lavatories. Public address and passenger information systems have also been installed as a part of passenger facilities in these coaches.

Ambience and ease of access into coach has been improved by aesthetically pleasing and ergonomic entrance. The interior of the coach has luminescent aisle markers, illuminated berth indicators integral with night lights with luminescent berth numbers.


There is also improved fire safety by ensuring compliance to world benchmark of EN45545-2 HL3 for materials, thus meeting the high requirements of the new fire protection standard.

 SALIENT DESIGN FEATURES OF AC 3-TIER ECONOMY CLASS COACH

*     Berth capacity increased from 72 to 83.

*     Improved and modular design of seats and berth.

*     Foldable snack tables in both longitudinal and transverse bays.

*     Individual AC vents for each berth.

*     Wider toilet door and entrance door for Divyangjan in each coach.

*     Individual reading lamp and USB charging points for each berth.

*     Increased headroom for both middle and upper berths.

*     Public address and passenger information systems.

*     Improving fire safety by using material in compliance with EN45545- 2HL3, the global benchmark for fire safety.

*     CCTV Camera.

* Improved design of ladder for accessing the upper and middle berths.

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RJ/DS

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Hong Kong – Jabs offer opportunities

Jabs offer opportunities

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     The Community Vaccination Centre operated by the University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine not only administers COVID-19 vaccines but also offers an invaluable opportunity to boost scientific research in the community and gives university students a hands-on learning experience.

     News.gov.hk spoke to the university’s School of Public Health to learn about its research projects and student volunteers at the vaccination centre.

     The story is available at www.news.gov.hk/eng/feature today (August 15) in text and video format.

Hong Kong – Distinctive arts on offer at LCSD parks (with photos)

Distinctive arts on offer at LCSD parks (with photos)

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     Members of the public are invited to visit the new phase of the Arts Fun Fair to be launched by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) at Kowloon Park from this Sunday (June 6). Visitors can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the park while appreciating a wide range of handicrafts and artworks.
 
     The 23rd phase of the Arts Fun Fair at Kowloon Park runs from June 6 until May 29 next year, and will be open from 1pm to 7pm on Sundays and public holidays at the park’s Loggia. There will be 17 stalls displaying and selling craftworks including paper crafts, handmade soaps, floral artworks and ornaments as well as arts services including marbling art and caricatures.
 
     The Arts Fun Fair aims at enhancing public interest in the arts and enriching the arts atmosphere in Hong Kong. It will also make the park more appealing and enjoyable for park visitors, a spokesman for the LCSD said.
 
     “The Arts Fun Fair at Kowloon Park has been well received by the general public. In addition to the fair, other specialised facilities in the park, such as the Sculpture Walk, the Sculpture Garden and the Maze Garden, also win the hearts of visitors enjoying fun-filled weekends,” the spokesman said.
 
     In addition to the fun fair at Kowloon Park, the Arts Corner at Hong Kong Park has also commenced.
 
     The 21st phase of the Hong Kong Park’s Arts Corner is now open from noon to 6pm every Saturday, Sunday and public holiday. It will continue until December 31 at the outdoor area near the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware inside the park. There are 10 stalls in operation featuring fabric crafts and ornaments as well as stalls providing arts services including painting, sketching and calligraphy.
 
     For enquiries, please call 2724 3344 (Kowloon Park) or 2521 5041 (Hong Kong Park).

ACHS to Offer $10,000 Changemakers Scholarship for MBA Program Infused with Sustainability & Wellness

In support of entrepreneurs and organizational leaders committed to doing business in ways that take us into a sustainable future, the American College of Healthcare Sciences (ACHS) is launching the MBA Changemakers Scholarship. The MBA Changemakers Scholarship awards the recipient a $10,000 tuition scholarship to pursue the ACHS MBA degree, the only MBA with sustainability and wellness at its core. Applications are open now through June 18, 2021. (Note: Admissions and scholarship requirements apply.)

“ACHS has been a leader in accredited, online education for over twenty years. Our MBA leverages that expertise, is fully online, and designed with sustainability embedded from start to finish. Students not only develop solid skills in MBA topics, they also gain a competitive advantage by understanding what it takes to build and maintain an enterprise that is innovative, resilient, and regenerative. Using business concepts and sustainability fundamentals that consider the financial, environmental, and social impact of organizational decisions, students develop projects throughout the program that lead to a portfolio of tangible, outward-facing examples of their skills and capabilities,” says Dean of Business Susan Marcus.

“Sustainability has been a core part of the ACHS mission and vision since 1978, and we are excited to expand our offerings with this innovative degree program. The ACHS MBA promotes the global mindset that is so critical for success in today’s business world and provides a pathway for integrative health and wellness practitioners, and professionals in all industry sectors, to have an even greater impact on the unprecedented challenges, needs, and opportunities facing us today,” shares ACHS President Dorene Petersen.

Now more than ever, those leading, managing, and developing business enterprises need an edge. The ACHS MBA provides that edge.

Scholarship terms: Applications are due on or before June 18, 2021. The scholarship is credited toward billed tuition; no cash value. The scholarship recipient must meet graduate admissions requirements and maintain satisfactory academic progress and is expected to complete 18 semester credit hours during the 2021-2022 academic year.

Please review the MBA Changemakers Scholarship page on our website for more information: https://achs.edu/admissions/tuition-and-funding/mba-changemakers-scholarship/

SBB to offer more space and reliability to customers with bicycles.

SBB is improving its services for travelling with bicycles for the 2021 cycling season. It is taking this step in response to strong demand and to insufficient capacity last summer. On key leisure travel lines (Bern to Brig, Zurich to Chur) SBB is tripling capacity at times of high demand from 21 March. SBB will offer customers with bicycles more reliable journey planning: thanks to reservations, passengers taking along bikes can be sure that they will find space for them on trains. The price of bicycle reservations is reduced from CHF 5 to CHF 2. SBB presented the improved services to cycling, consumer and industry organisations today and outlined future prospects for travelling with bikes. 

There has been a sharp increase in demand for travelling with bikes and holidays in Switzerland due to the coronavirus crisis. In some cases this has led to capacity shortages and dissatisfied customers who were unable to travel with their bike on the train they had planned to use. Around 80,000 Bike Day Passes were sold in the peak month of July 2020, for example, which is up by around 45% compared to the previous year. SBB also transported up to 15,000 bikes with self-service loading on the main axes of Zurich to Chur and Bern to Brig.

Broad-based dialogue and faster implementation of customer needs.

SBB expects demand for travel with bikes to continue to rise and is responding to this trend. This is why – together with Pro Velo and the Swiss Transport and Environment Association – it engaged in broad-based dialogue with cycling stakeholders as well as consumer and industry organisations on the issue of ‘sustainable travel with bicycles’. The aim is to offer customers reliable journey planning and reservations, to further improve and simplify services and to make them even more customer-friendly. SBB has a duty of responsibility towards all customers and wishes to provide services that meet and take account of the needs of all passengers as far as possible – including, for example, people with disabilities or families.

Increase in capacity and reliable planning thanks to reservations.

In view of the forthcoming cycling season, which begins on 21 March, SBB has introduced various changes to make travelling with bikes easier:

Increase in capacity.

SBB is increasing capacity for the self-service loading of bicycles at times of high demand on the key leisure travel lines, tripling capacity compared to the current levels where possible. These routes include Bern to Brig and Zurich to Chur. Additional capacity will also be provided on routes to Ticino, Interlaken and the southern foot of the Jura. Passengers will be assisted with the loading of bicycles by SBB staff on these lines where possible.
In order to expand capacity medium and long-term, SBB is currently assessing which technical measures can be implemented long-term to create additional bicycle spaces on various types of train. Only minor modifications to rolling stock are possible in the short term.

Reservation for bike spaces.

Customers with bicycles need to be able to plan their journey reliably and safely. SBB makes this possible on all Swiss InterCity trains with a reservation costing CHF 2. Passengers who made a reservation can be certain that they will find space for their bike on the trains. Trains are labelled with the well-known bicycle symbol in the online timetable. Bikes can only be transported using self-service loading on trains labelled with this symbol if a reservation has been made and a valid bike ticket is presented. Reservations can be made up until shortly before departure in the SBB Mobile app. They can also be purchased at the counter or several days in advance via the SBB Contact Center (tel. 0848 44 66 88).
The price for reservations will be reduced from CHF 5 to CHF 2 for a continuous connection – for example for a route with more than one section. International trains within Switzerland can now also be used for bike transport with a reservation, but prices and booking options may differ. Bikes can be transported with a valid bicycle ticket but without a reservation on regional services (R, S, RE trains) as well as on InterRegio trains (IR).

Credit for holders of the annual bike pass.

Holders of the annual bike pass will receive one-off credit for 25 reservations worth CHF 50.

Folding bicycles.

Folding bicycles can be transported on all public transport services without extra packaging and without an additional bike ticket as before.

120,000 people use bike parking, sharing and rental services each day.

SBB has expanded its services for travelling with bicycles over recent years, such as with areas for bicycle on trains and assisted service in the luggage compartment. Bicycle storage spaces at railway stations have also been increased by around 10,000 over recent years in cooperation with the municipalities which means they have been significantly expanded since 2013 to a total of 96 300 places (2020: +824) – around 120,000 people use bicycle parking, sharing and rental services every day.