Railways Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu Addresses a Specially Convened Meeting of General Managers of Zonal Railways on Safety measures in Rail Operations.
The Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu today addressed a specially convened meeting on the Agenda of Safety of General Managers of all the 17 Railway Zones. The Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu said that safety should continue to be the topmost priority in railway operations and he called upon the General Managers to personally ensure that the safety aspects are handled in the most professional manner at all levels. The Minister said that no excuses for lapses are acceptable. The Minister of Railways pointed out that he has delegated and decentralized more powers at the level of General Managers and Divisional Railway Managers but with this empowerment should come greater responsibility and accountability. He said that every railway employee from the Board Member to the trackman should be conscious of their duties and there was a need to fix accountability in the system. He further said that there is a need to adopt outcome oriented approach. Shri Suresh Prabhu said that one need to go to the basics and to the fundamentals while adhering to safety protocol in railway operations.
The Minister further emphasized the need to conduct strong safety audits at all levels on regular intervals and concrete action should be taken on those reports in a time bound manner. He again reiterated that the issue of safety is non-negotiable and any laxity on this front is unacceptable. We need to improve supervision, inspection, monitoring and periodical review of safety measures. The Minister also emphasized on adopting a holistic approach on safety and other activities of Railways. He said that we have to strive for zero accident mission and a roadmap and comprehensive action plan need to be prepared. He said that we should not hesitate in taking harsh actions on lapses and to fix responsibility wherever necessary and desirable as there cannot be any excuse for lapses. The Minister said that we need to pull up our socks to ensure that the railway's system functions efficiently and safely all the time.
In his speech Minister of State for Railways Shri Manoj Sinha said that time has come for hard actions and we need to strictly observe safety systems. He also advised to fill up safety related vacant posts on priority. He said that there should not be complacence in matters of safety.
Chairman, Railway Board, Shri A. K. Mital outlined the objective of the meeting. The other Railway Board Members also presented their views at the meeting. 17 General Managers of all the Railway Zones attended the daylong meeting. The issues like loading, Punctuality, Earnings and Cleanliness were also discussed in the meeting. Later, Chairman Railway Board addressed a press conference giving details about the outcome of the meeting.
