17 August 2014

68th INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS BY SOUTHERN RAILWAY

68th INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS BY SOUTHERN RAILWAY



            Shri Rakesh Misra, General Manager, Southern Railway unfurled the national flag o­n the occasion of the Nations’s 68thIndependence Day celebrations at Southern Railway New General Office, Chennai.  He then inspected an impressive Guard of Honour by the Railway Protection Force.





            On the occasion of the 68thIndependence Day, the Railwaymen paid respect to our freedom fighters who suffered immense hardships and even laid down their lives and also paid homage to our intrepid countrymen who strived hard to get us freedom from the yoke of colonial rule.  Shri B. Mohan, Chief Security Commissioner, Officers staff and family members of Southern Railway were present o­n the occasion.





            The General Manager said that Indian Railways is the veritable lifeline and nervous system of the nation and acts as the engine in India’s growth.  We, as members of the Southern Railway team can be justifiably proud of our own achievements which have contributed in no small measure to the well-being of the country.





            The new Government at the Centre has taken some remarkable ‘People Centric’ initiatives which are important for our esteemed passengers.  These include:





Improvement in cleanliness at stations and in trains.
Improvement in punctuality of Mail/Express and Passenger trains.

Improvement in quality of linen supplied to passengers in trains.

Attaching extra coaches to clear waiting list to the extent augmentation of trains is possible.

To improve quality of food served in trains both in mobile and static catering.

To reduce waiting time in queue for buying an unreserved ticket.

To give priority of movement to agricultural products.

Quick clearances of proposals for sidings, Road-over-Bridges etc.

Reduction of ‘running time’ of some trains.

Proper regulation of temperature in AC coaches.

We, in Southern Railway, are already working seriously o­n these initiatives, the General Manager said.For instance, our punctuality record stands quite enviably at around 94% for mail/express trains.Similarly, we are constantly watchful about augmentation of rakes.As many as 584 special trains were run in the first three months and more than 1600 coaches were attached in regular trains o­n day to day basis to clear waitlisted passengers.And incidentally, as far as catering is concerned, we are the leaders in Indian Railways by having awarded new contracts for 37 out of our 39 trains.

The General Manager was very happy to state that the total earnings of Southern Railway during the first four months of the current financial year have been Rs.2380 crores, an increase of 10.6% over last year.

On the passenger traffic front, during the first four months of current year, 276 million originating passengers were carried by Southern Railway, yielding originating passenger earnings of 1351.34crores, and registering 17.36% growth in earnings over previous year.

The Originating Freight earnings is 4% ahead of our earnings during the corresponding period of last year.

During the current financial year, Southern Railway has commissioned 25 km of Ariyalur – Kallakudi Palanganatham section of Villupuram – Dindigul doubling project.We also successfully took the bold decision of Doubling of Ernakulam – Ernakulam ‘C’ Cabin section, a task which had been hanging fire for the past several years.

In addition, 63 km of Palani – Pollachi gauge converted section, 18.4 km of Perani – Mailam – Tindivanam doubling and 4 km of Ennore - Attippattu 3 & 4thline are ready for inspection by Commissioner of Railway Safety,and are likely to be commissioned shortly.40 km of Chengalpattu-Villupuram doubling project and also a 7 km stretch of Sengottai-Bhagavathipuram section in Sengottai-Punalur GC project, have also been completed.

Safety is our top-most priority and we, o­n Southern Railway, have been taking every step to ensure safe running of trains by constantly monitoring safety through conducting safety drives and safety campaigns in all our Divisions.Southern Railway has not o­nly brought awareness in the minds of our staff in this regard but has also launched major safety campaigns in order to seek the co-operation of the public in this endeavour.We Railwaymen cannot afford to relax our vigil in this most important aspect of railway working and have tokeep striving earnestly to achieve our goal of zero accidents.

Passenger security remains another important focus area for us.To strengthen the existing passenger security, Integrated Security Systems have been commissioned at 14 important stations over Southern Railway at an estimated cost of 39.07 crores.You will be glad to learn that Southern Railway is the first to complete this task amongst all the 16 Zones, and we are first by a mile!It is heartening to see that this system has already started proving its efficacy in apprehending criminals at platforms in several instances.

Ladies and Gentlemen, a society is judged by how much care it takes of those who need a bit of extra care. Southern Railway is sensitive to the needs of its differently abled passengers.The Railway has earmarked space in coaches exclusively for the differently abled.Regular inspections are conducted to ensure that normal passengers do not encroach upon the space meant for the differently abled so that the differently abled passengers enjoy a hassle free and comfortable journey.

Also security of lady passengers in Chennai suburban section is also being accorded great priority by us.Escorting of ladies special EMU trains in peak hours is done by women RPF Squad called “Sakthi Padai”.Apart from the peak hours escorting, 96 EMU trains running between 22.00 hrs to 06.00 hrs are escorted by RPF staff.Furthermore, RPF Quick Response Teams have been formed to attend to the complaints of women passengers.

All EMU services in Chennai Beach – Tambaram – Chengalpattu - Tirumalpur section have now been augmented from 9 car rakes to 12 car rakes.To facilitate identification of destination stations to passengers, GPS based passenger information system has been provided in 36 EMU/MEMU rakes in Chennai suburban sections.

For the convenience of passengers, escalators have been provided at Chennai Egmore, Tambaram, Coimbatore, Kozhikode, Trivandrum, Ernakulam and Madurai stations in addition to MRTS stations. This facility is being extended to more stations in a phased manner. Passenger lifts have been provided at Salem, Kozhikode and Chengannur stations. Work is in progress to provide this facility at 22 more stations.


The General Manager was very happy to mention that Carriage & Wagon Workshop, Perambur has been certified for Integrated Management System (IMS) in July 2014.Golden Rock Workshop and Perambur Loco Works are also processing for this landmark certification.

Our Perambur Railway Hospital has been a source of pride and joy for us for the past several decades, the General Manager said.To add a further feather in our Medical cap, we have now started a fully functional Super speciality Department of Neurosurgery in our hospital and several complicated neurosurgical procedures involving brain and spine surgeries have already been performed by our dedicated team of specialist doctors.Also, the newly commissioned state-of-the-art Cardiac Cath Lab has already been used for about six hundred Coronary Angiograms till date.

Our sportspersons have kept the flag of Southern Railway flying high.Nothing could have been a prouder moment for Southern Railway when our star Weight-lifter Satish Kumar lifted the Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Games held this year.In the All India Railway Table-Tennis Championship this year, Shri E. Prabhakar has done us proud by winning the individual Men’s title and helped the Southern Railway team bag the Runners-up position in the Men’s event.My personal congratulations go out to all our Sportspersons who have repeatedly brought laurels to Southern Railway.

We have just heard our Hon’ble Prime Minister laying a lot of emphasis o­n TOILETS.Accordingly, the Railway lays much emphasis o­n cleanliness of toilets o­n board trains and in railway premises.During inspections, special attention and focus is o­n toilets.The Mechanical Department of Southern Railway is working hard o­n upgradation of toilets in coaches.

Our beloved Southern Railway has been marching ahead o­n all fronts, but all these achievements would not have been possible but for the untiring and dedicated support of all our officers, supervisors and staff, said the General Manager.He also acknowledged the positive role of the recognized Union and Associations in maintaining industrial peace and creating a harmonious working atmosphere which has helped the Railway move along the path of progress.

Importantly, the General Manager called upon each member of the Southern Railway family to pledge their support in making Southern Railway an efficient, productive and accident free railway, always agile to the needs of our esteemed users.He urged them to rededicate themselves to live up to their duties and responsibilities, forever conscious of the fact that they represent a great institution of a great nation with a great destiny.