Speed was improved over 408 kilometres of lines on South Western Railway this year, announced Ajay Kumar Singh, General Manager for South Western Railway. He also listed several achievements of the zone in the year so far.
Many regular and special trains were also run for the benefit of passengers in the zone, according to the GM. Five pairs of new trains and 15 pairs of Special Tatkal services were also introduced. Frequency of a train was increased and over 100 Suvidha Special Trains were also run, he informed the audience.
Full Text of the Republic Day Message of the General Manager, South Western Railway reproduced below:
Dear Members of the Railway Fraternity,
On the occasion of 71st Republic day, I extend warm greetings to all members of the Railway family, our partners in the industry, business, customers and passengers.
Indian Railways has resolved to work with the vision of “Rail Badhe, Desh Badhe”. SWR is playing its role in achieving this.
Performance of SWR in the current year till the end of the third quarter is encouraging. The Gross earnings till end of December, 2019 are Rs. 4,341 Crore, that is Rs. 22 Crore more than that of last year. During this period, we achieved loading of 27 Million Tonnes of freight which is 1% more than last year & carried around 5 Lakh passengers per day.
On Passenger front, this year turned out to be historical with record number of introduction of new train services. 5 pairs of new train services & 15 pairs of Tatkal special trains have been introduced on SWR. In addition 3 pairs of train services have been extended and frequency of one train increased. 101 pairs of Suvidha Trains were also run.
Punctuality performance has been decent. We recorded improvement of punctuality in recent months in spite of tremendous number of infrastructure works of doubling and other track renewal & maintenance works. 70 Permanent Speed Restrictions (PSR) have been relaxed this year as against a target of 24. Sectional speed has been increased on 408 Km in this Railway. 226 RKM of SWR- “B” route of SWR, Penukonda – Satya Sai Prashanti Nilayam- Dharmavaram electrified section and Channasandra – Yelhanka – Dharmavaram have been certified to run trains at 110 Kmph.
After Shri Suresh Angadi Ji has taken over as MoSR, special thrust is being given to upgrade infrastructure and line capacity on SWR. This year 266 km of doubling on the main routes is planned for commissioning which will strengthen the network further. 106 km of doubling which includes the 23 Km between Binkadakatti and Harlapur completed recently has been commissioned so far. 76 km of electrification is also completed so far and 390 Km is planned to be electrified by the end of this year.
Highest priority is accorded to safety in Railway operations. Our safety performance has been good but should not be compromised and we are firmly committed to observance of safety norms at all levels. Safety at level crossing gates is a priority item of Ministry of Railways. Works for large number of ROBs/RUBs are also in progress to achieve our mission towards eliminating LC gates. 3 Road Over bridges and 67 RUB/Subways have been constructed during this financial year. 60 manned LC gates have also been closed so far this year against a target of 84.
Passengers are our prime focus and SWR is striving to make the train journey a pleasant experience. Augmentation of amenities at Railway Stations is a continuous exercise. During this year improvement to station buildings have been done at 10 stations, Foot over Bridges, High Level Platforms and Platform shelter/extension of Platform shelter completed at 15, 17 and 34 stations respectively. To provide first and last mile connectivity to rail passengers Public Bike Sharing initiative has been launched at Bengaluru & Hubballi Stations by providing space at Railway Stations to private agencies. To create sense of patriotism among passengers monumental Flags have been provided at 4 stations. Beautification of station buildings is being done to improve aesthetics.
In order to enhance security at Railway stations, Video Surveillance System (VSS) at stations was planned by Railway Board. SWR is the first zone to commission VSS in 9 stations. Fast and free Wi-Fi has been provided in 308 stations.
Integrated Management System Certificate has been awarded to 4 stations at Hubballi, Dharwad, Belagavi and Vasco-da-gama of Hubballi Division. Mysuru Station was one of the first stations on Indian Railway to receive this Certification last year.
Responding to the call of “Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat”, SWR has changed the landscape of Railway premises with greener environment.
On Board Housekeeping Services have been provided in 58 trains running over SWR. Automatic coach washing plant has been commissioned at Bengaluru and 5 more such plants are in the pipeline.
To make the train journey a comfortable one SWR have during this financial year converted Rakes of 12 trains into new design LHB rakes which is safer and has better amenities. Rakes of 25 trains have also been upgraded as UTKRISHTI having pleasing interiors. The 375th UTKRISHTI coach was recently flagged off on 21.01.2020.
The most valuable asset of SWR is its diligent and dedicated workforce. During this financial year till Nov 2019, 3,663 Group C and Group D Staff were recruited through RRB/RRC in SWR. Another 1500 technical staff are also being inducted in difference categories. 1600 Assistant loco Pilots are also in the process of training and being posted in Divisions. Promotions to a record number of 2479 staff have been given till Dec 2019. To take care of the health of our employees 50 paramedical staff has also been posted. To bring about uniformity in Medical ID Cards issued to employees and other medical beneficiaries UMID has been launched and 93 % of Employees have registered under this scheme.
SWR is moving towards digitization by implementing e-office at SWR HQ and Bengaluru Division. The implementation of e-office is on the fast track at Hubballi and Mysuru and targeted to be commissioned by March 2020.
As measures of social responsibility, Antyodaya centers have been launched by South Western Railway at Hubballi, Mysuru, & Bengaluru Stations. These centres are aimed at imparting basic education, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities to the underprivileged children by providing meals and study material, free of cost.
Performance of our Workshops has been good. Hubballi Workshop is now geared up for handling POH of MEMU & LHB rakes. Initiative of Nali Kali (Joyful learning) of Mysuru Workshop received much appreciation from all quarters.
I take this opportunity to congratulate all the officers, supervisors and staff for their outstanding work.
Scouts and Guides of SWR have played a remarkable role in spreading safety awareness and cleanliness among the public.
Sports persons of our Railway have performed well. Our Cycling team has emerged Champions in the recently held Inter-Railway Championships at Secunderabad. SWR Men’s Volleyball Team and Women’s Basketball Teams finished 3rd at the Inter-Railway Championships. Civil defence organization has been active in imparting training to volunteer employees.
All these achievements would not have been possible without the constructive support of the recognized trade union and other associations of South Western Railway. I thank them for maintaining harmonious industrial relations.
We thank South Western Railway Women’s Welfare Organization (SWRWWO) for rendering remarkable service for uplifting Railway men and their families and thank them whole heartedly.
On this auspicious day, let us resolve to face the challenges and achieve further milestones in the path of development of our nation.
JAI HIND