Railway Minister urges railway employees to join hands for substantial expansion & modernisation of Indian Railways

Ministry of Railways

Railway Minister urges railway employees to join hands for substantial expansion & modernisation of Indian Railways

The 56th annual railway awards function 2011 concludes today
 
The 56th Annual Railway Awards function 2011 was held here today i.e. 21st November 2011.  The Union Railway Minister, Shri Dinesh Trivedi was the Chief Guest at the function while the Ministers of State Shri K. H. Muniyappa and Shri Bharatsinh Solanki were present as Guests of Honour.  Chairman, Railway Board Shri Vinay Mittal, all Board Members, General Managers of Zonal Railways & Production Units and other senior officials of the Ministry of Railway were among those present on the occasion.

In his address, Shri Trivedi said that in this recession period which has affected developed countries of Europe and America adversely, the whole world is looking towards India which has maintained an 8 per cent economic growth.  He said that India has emerged as engine of growth for the whole world and Indian Railways in turn is undoubtedly engine of growth for India as it is the nation’s lifeline and the mainstay of country’s transport infrastructure.   Shri Trivedi said that Indian Railways is now ‘Hindustan ki Pehchaan’ and one cannot think of India without Indian Railways.

Shri Trivedi urged all Railway men & women to join hands for substantial expansion and modernization of Indian Railways which include improvement in productivity and efficiency, security, safety, service, comfort and other amenities of passengers.  The Minister pointed out that  safety of rail operation is most important thing and is being accorded the highest priority,  as safety never sleeps.  We would like to make efforts to achieve zero tolerance on safety issues.  The Minister informed that he has recently constituted a High Level Safety Review Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. Anil Kakodkar, Former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission.  The committee comprising of eminent persons/experts in technical and high end technology related fields with adequate experience and expertise will  provide a valuable independent outsiders’ view in respect of the system, protocols and safety audits.  The Minister said that he had roped in nuclear scientists and space scientists because they are the best experts on safety matters.   Referring to the loss of innocent lives at level crossing accidents, the Railway Minister said that he is talking to some celebrities like Shri Sachin Tendulkar and Shri Amir Khan to help Railways in launching public awareness campaign for avoiding such unfortunate accidents.  Shri Trivedi said that he wants to develop stations on the lines of Airport Authority of India as centers of multiple activities.  In this connection, Railway Stations Development Corporation for the wholesome development of stations is being set up, he added.

Emphasizing on the need to modernize Railway operations in all respects,  the Railway Minister said that an Expert Group has recently been constituted to recommend  ways and means to modernize Indian Railways to meet the challenges of economic growth, the aspirations of the common man, the needs of changing technology and the expanding market while at the same time ensuring adequate focus on addressing social and strategic requirements of the country in consonance with Indian Railways’ national aspirations.  The Minister said that Public Private Partnership will come in a big way in the 12th Five Year Plan as lot of investments in infrastructure sectors  is proposed to  come from private sector.  Shri Trivedi said that dedication and sacrifice of the Railway employees is like that of Indian Military Force. Shri Trivedi mentioned the courage of loco pilots Shri P.K. Chatterjee who was recently kidnapped and Shri P. N. Hussian who was injured by extremists’ bullets.

Shri Dinesh Trivedi Congratulated the Zonal Railways, officers and staff who won  shields, merit certificates and cash awards for their outstanding performance during the year 2010-11.   The Railway Minister said that he is proud to be part of this large family which is known for its commitment and dedication.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of State for Railways Shri K. H. Muniyappa said that we take pride in the fact that Indian Railways created history by recording the highest ever achievement in construction of new lines and doubling projects in the financial year 2010-11.  Indian Railways also recorded spectacular rolling stock acquisition and production of more than twenty thousand units during the same fiscal  which is the highest in a single year since independence.    The Minister pointed out that in spite of several constraints and challenges, the Railways have been always committed in meeting its target, be it freight earnings or earnings from passenger.

The Minister of State for Railways Shri Bharatsinh Solanki, in his address, said that Indian Railways have registered an enormous growth in passenger and freight traffic with better scientific management, laying out new railway lines and renewal of railway tracks.   Shri Solanki said that while being on the path of progress, Indian Railways have to also ensure the timely completion of important projects like Dedicated Freight Corridors, World Class Stations Adarsh Stations, High Speed Train Corridors, unitization of Railways’ vacant land, setting up of new Production Units etc.   Shri Solanki hoped that with continuous endeavours and dedication of all the employees, the Indian Railways will continue to grow from strength to strength, year after year.
In his speech Shri Vinay Mittal, Chairman, Railway Board, said that Indian Railways connects the far flung areas of the nation and a symbol of  national unity and integrity.  He said that it is the team work of all Railwaymen which is running this huge network effectively.

Among the important awards bagged by different railways, the Level Crossing & Road Over Bridge Safety Works Shield was bagged jointly by Northern Railway, North Western Railway and Southern Railway. The Security Shield was won by North Western Railway. The Comprehensive Health Care Shield was received by Eastern Railway. The other awards included Civil Engineering Shield jointly by South Central Railway, Northeast Frontier Railway and South Eastern Railway, Mechanical Engineering  Shield by South Central Railway, Electrical  Engineering Shield by Southern Railway, Signal & Telecommunication Engineering Shield by Northern Railway,  Personnel Management Shield by Eastern Railway,  Store Shield jointly by  North Western Railway & Western Railway, Traffic Transportation Shield  jointly by   South Central Railway & South East Central Railway, Accounts & Finance Management Shield by North Central Railway, Commercial Shield by South Central Railway, Civil Engineering Construction Shield  jointly by Eastern Railway & North Western Railway,  Sales Management Shield jointly by North Western Railway, Eastern Railway & Northeast Frontier Railway, Running Room Shield jointly by South Central Railway (Dhone Running Room of Guntkal Division) & West Central Railway (Kota Running Room of Kota Division), Passenger Security Shield by South Central Railway, Comprehensive Health Care Cup for New Zones by East Coast Railway  and Govind Vallabh Pant Shield by Western Railway. In addition 269 Railway employees were given National Awards for outstanding services.  Four employees received prizes for English essay.  38 employees got Scrap Disposal Performance Prize.

Shri Vijay Kumar Gupta, Secretary Railway Board conducted the proceedings of the function.

Source: PIB