SCR surging ahead de­spite odds

Indian Railways is celebrating the 60th Railway Week all over the network from April 10 to 16. The celebrations are meant to commemorate the dawn of rail era in India on April 16, 1853, when the first train ran on Indian soil from Boribunder to Thane.

• SCR is in the forefront of the Swachh Bharat campagin
• The Secunderabad is adjudged the cleanenst in Indian Railways
• The SCR carried 10 lakh passengers a day during financial year 2014-15

The Railway Week Celebrations offer an opportunity to recognise the meritorious services rendered by railways which had won various awards at the National, Zonal, Departmental and Divisional levels. It is also the time to review the zone’s performance for the previous financial year (FY) and to make out the strategy to meet the challenges ahead. I would like to share the fact that SCR has been awarded with All India Performance Efficiency Shields in 4 disciplines.

Seven of our officers/staff are receiving the coveted Railway Minister’s award at the national level. On the zone, 275 of officers/staff are the recipients of the General Manager’s Zonal award and 58 efficiency shields go to the best performing divisions.The FY 2014-15 has been a year of challenges putting SCR to a gruelling test of character and commitment. Overcoming odds, SCR has recorded the best ever performance in virtually every sphere during the year.

SCR has registered a remarkable performance in gross earnings and traffic volume, posting an impressive growth rate. In terms of passenger traffic, SCR has carried 361.74 millions of originating passengers during 2014-15 fiscal averaging 10 lakh passengers each day. A striking feature worth noting is that there is a growth of 3 per cent in suburban passenger traffic, against the downtrend in this segment on Indian Railways.

In the freight sector, a viable rake management system, tapping the right commodities and market, sourcing ports at Krishnapatnam and Kakinada for handling out-bound and incoming traffic with acumen have yielded results. In the passenger segment, introduction of 20 new trains, running of 790 special trains, attaching of 10,714 numbers of extra coaches, etc., led to the augmentation of passenger carrying capacity. This success is purely on the core strength of our dedicated staff, focused approach and commitment towards our valued customers.

Safety has been one of the foremost priorities of SCR. The Zone is firmly committed to zero-tolerance for any violation of safety norms at any level. To avoid any untoward incidents at Un-Manned Level Crossings (UMLCs), SCR has initiated an action plan to eliminate all UMLCs on its jurisdiction by 2017. Meanwhile, as a first-of-its-kind in Indian Railways, the zone took a bold step of deploying ‘Gate Mithras’ at all the UMLCs for counselling road users.

This concept has yielded positive results as there have been no accidents at UMLCs since then SCR is going in a big way to provide bio-toilets. So far, 440 coaches have been fitted with 1,394 bio-toilets. In addition, Clean Train Station scheme is operational at Vijayawada and Guntakal stations on SCR. Due priority has been given for providing On Board Housekeeping Service for long distance trains.

SCR is in the forefront of the Swachh Bharat Mission campaign. Secunderabad Railway Station, the headquarters station of SCR, has earned the distinction of being adjudged the cleanest station on Indian Railways. The campaign is covering the entire zone, with virtually every railway personnel being involved and it is our endeavour to ensure that the ‘Swachh’ efforts remain a continuous process all through.

(The writer is General Manager, South Central Railway)

By P K Srivastava, IRSEE