Prabhu likens Railways to ICU patient
23 Aug 2015 4:34 AM IST
Likening the Indian Railways to an ICU patient, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Friday said the public transporter was suffering because of neglect and lack of investment and the government would invest $120 billion in the next five years.
Indian Railways was suffering because of neglect over several years and lack of investment in infrastructure development, the minister said. “In the last several years we have not invested as much as should have been invested,” Prabhu said at the Eastern Railway headquarter.
“Because of neglect over several years, Railways is suffering,” he said. The minister said that steps were being taken to rectify these, but this would take some time before results were visible.
“You cannot increase the number of trains or rolling stock with the given infrastructure,” he said.
Illustrating the present state of Indian Railway, Prabhu said an ICU patient cannot be expected to join a marathon race against the Chinese railway now. “A marathon cannot be done by an ICU patient and today’s Indian Railway cannot be compared tomorrow with Chinese railway. We must first understand where railway was and in that context we must compare today’s railway
with any other railway,” Prabhu said earlier at a Bharat Chamber of Commerce session.
Emphasising that the government needs time to make up for the past, he said, “We are starting to run from zeropoint and still want to win the race” adding that in the next five years the government was investing $120 billion in the railways.
“Many of the problems that we face today is because of the lack of investment in the past and also because modernisation has not been initiated in the railways,” Prabhu said.
He said the Indian Railway is always compared with that of China but to reach that stage India must make investments. Prabhu also inaugurated a mobile-based application introduced by Eastern Railway, R-Mitra, to ensure women’s safety. “Around 2.7 crore to 3 crore people travel in the Indian Railways system on a day-to-day basis. Different types of crimes are committed by anti-social elements,” Prabhu said at the Eastern Railway headquarter here.
“It is a big challenge to deal with crime in railway properties,” he said adding tracking and preventing crime was very important.
Prabhu said the lack of capacity in trains was visible during festivals like Durga Puja or Chatt when the demands increase.
He said the Railways was working on a new coach design and noted that cleanliness has increased significantly. “But I am not happy, there is a long way to go,” he said.
“However, in short time we have shown some results,” he said adding “we have a different vision,” Prabhu said.
The Minister said 17 states have signed agreements with Railways for joint venture projects. “I hope West Bengal will also join after considering the benefits,” Prabhu said.
During the programme at the Bharat Chamber of Commerce, the Minister said that railway was not getting enoughcargo, though it has a capacity to handle 1.2 billion tonnes annually.
Railways to conduct future examinations online
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Friday said future railway recruitment examinations will be conducted online in a transparent manner so that people are not deceived. “Some people were complaining about the malpractices in recruitment in 2014. I have addressed that issue by making sure that all examinations in future will be online examinations,” he said at an event organised by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce.
Mobile Application for women’s safety launched
Women train commuters in distress can now seek immediate police assistance. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Friday launched a mobile app. Designed in-house by the Eastern Railway (ER), the app – Railway Mobile Instant Tracking Response and Assistance (R-MITRA) – immediately sends alerts to the nearest Railway Protection Force (RPF) inspector as well as the Divisional Security Control Room (DSCR) providing location as well as the identity of the victim.“As soon as a female commuter in any kind of distress, presses the emergency button on the app, her identification and her location will be immediately sent to the nearest RPF inspector and the DSCR who can then immediately take adequate response,” ER general manager RK Gupta said. “Since the commuter will be on the move, the app will alert the RPF personnel at the next two stations. Using GPS and GPRS, the location of the woman in distress can be tracked in real-time at the DSCR,” said Gupta.
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