Railway Minister Nitish Kumar today said the ministry had not estimated the number of railway employees that may opt for the recently announced voluntary retirement scheme (VRS). There are about 42,000 gangmen and 8,000 drivers aged between 50 and 57.
Addressing a press conference, Kumar said VRS for staff at the grassroot level would enhance safety since one-third of train accidents were due to human errors.
The minister said the railways were also finalising a 10-year comprehensive corporate safety plan starting this year. This will be tabled in the monsoon session of Parliament beginning on Monday.
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The plan will focus on developing anti-collision devices, building fire-resistant coaches, upgrading safety-related training facilities, inspecting and maintaining tracks and undertaking anti-sabotage measures.
The railways have been sanctioned Rs 17,000 crore since 2001 to be used exclusively for safety.
Justifying the VRS, the minister said gangmen and drivers lost concentration as they grew old. The railways had been discussing the VRS offer with the unions for the past one year and the latter had expressed satisfaction over the move. Representatives of the unions were present at the briefing.
Kumar said one dependent of each employee opting for VRS might be given a job in the railways.
Kumar said there were 351 railway accidents in 2002-03, against 414 in 2001-02, a decline of 15 per cent. This was the lowest number of consequential accidents during the past 40 years, he claimed.
From April-June, 2003, the number of accidents stood at 85, against 103 during the same period in 2002, reflecting a decline of 17.4 per cent.
The railways minister said a committee had been constituted with a view to improving the condition of running rooms and crew lobbies.
It had also been decide to fill all safety related vacancies on an urgent basis, and the railways have already decided to recruit 20,000 employees for safety related work.