ECR forced to withdraw circular on extra coach

The East Central Railway (ECR) has now withdrawn a recent circular, issued by former chief commercial manager (CCM) Arvind Kumar, requiring requisition at least three days in advance for attaching an extra coach to any mail and express train. It has now re-enforced the earlier circular, according to which railways could attach an extra coach to any mail and express train at a short notice depending on passengers' waitlist position.An ECR official confirmed withdrawal of the circular. Both the ECR headquarters and each of its five divisions would now work in close coordination to make the flow of traffic movement more smooth, particularly from Patna Junction, which has become a focal point of huge traffic movement and VIP passengers' movement.Over a dozen MPs from Bihar had created a furore on December 6 following denial of berths in AC-1 of Patna-New Delhi Rajdhani Express and non-attachment of an extra AC-1 coach to that train to accommodate them and their spouses in the same class.The Danapur division of ECR tried to shield itself by passing the buck on the ECR headquarters for the CCM's stringent directive. However, following the MPs' complaint, the irked railway minister, Dinesh Trivedi, ordered the suspension of Danapur divisional operating manager, Adhar Raj, which was later revoked amid protest from Railway Officers' Association (RAO), sources said.Taking a serious note of ECR's lapses, the railway ministry ordered immediate transfer of its two senior officials - CCM Arvind Kumar, who issued the circular not to entertain requisition for attachment of an extra coach to any train unless it reached three days in advance, and chief passenger transportation manager S K Sharma. While Kumar has been transferred to North Frontier Railway, Guwahati, Sharma has been transferred to Hubli, Karnataka. Sharma is said to have firmly disallowed attachment of an extra coach to the Rajdhani Express as per the CCM's directive enforced from December 1, sources said.According to an ECR official, this zone has been facing paucity of passenger coaches. With no periodical coach maintenance (POH) workshop of its own, it is forced to send coaches outside the zone in West Bengal and Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh). On many occasions, the coaches sent for POH are not retuned in time, causing much pressure on the ECR to cope with huge traffic, he said.