26 2011

Republic Day Message

Dear Railwaymen,

ndToday on this solemn occasion of our 62 Republic Day, I convey my best wishes to all railwaymen and their families. On this momentous day, we introspect our performance and reaffirm our resolution to excel in this challenging environment. I am happy to announce that we have registered a good growth in passenger and freight traffic. We have also laid emphasis on provision of various passenger amenities to our esteemed passengers. It has been our constant endeavour to make travel a more amiable and pleasant experience.

We have continued our commendable performance in freight traffic and have registered a record loading of 46.51 million tonnes upto December, 2010 which is 5.8% more than the corresponding period of last year. In terms of freight earnings, we have achieved a growth of 9.5% over the last year. Total originating earnings during first nine months of current year has been approximately Rs.6616 Crore showing a growth of 10% over last year. Punctuality of Mail/ Express trains has been 92.2% which is one of the best among all Zonal Railways. Concerted efforts are being made to maintain high standards of safety, security and punctuality.

We have introduced 8 new mail/ express trains in the current financial year. Frequency of two trains has been increased and the running of 6 trains has been extended. For the convenience of passengers, 2818 special trains have been run upto December, 2010 which is 40% more than the holiday specials run during the corresponding period of last year. To facilitate passenger's travel during holidays, we have added 3307 coaches in various trains upto December, 2010 on a temporary basis.

Development of Infrastructure is the harbinger of a promising future. Gauge conversion of Bodeli-Chhota Udepur section on Vadodara Division on Pratap Nagar-Chhota Udepur section has been completed for passenger traffic. Gauge conversion of Jetalsar-Wansjaliya section in Saurashtra region of Gujarat state at an approximate cost of Rs.203 Crore has also been completed. After completion of doubling work,

ndGandhidham-Adipur section has been opened for goods traffic from 2 December, 2010. Doubling of Akodia-Mohammed Khera–Shujalpur in thRatlam Division has been completed and the section has been opened for passenger traffic from 7 December, 2010 while doubling of Kalapipal-

Jabri-Parbati has recently been completed. Road Over Bridges at Bhandu Motidau-Mahesana, Laxmibai Nagar-Indore, Himmat Nagar and Dahisar-Mira Road have been opened for

traffic during this financial year. Part detailed estimate of new line project Dahod-Indore including Chhota Udepur – Dhar falling in the states of Madhya Pradesh and

Gujarat have been sanctioned. Works have already been commenced. Gauge conversion work between Bharuch – Samni –Dahej, Surendra Nagar–Dhrangadhra, Rajpipla-Ankleshwar is progressing. Preliminary works of guage conversion of Ratlam-Mhow section have also commenced. Terminal Improvement works are being carried out at Churchgate, Bandra Terminus, Sabarmati, Okha and Vadodara stations. Work of extension of platforms has been completed at Andheri and Umargaon stations.

Keeping in tune with Western Railway's high standards of service, top priority is always accorded for improvement in passenger amenities. 16 UTS cum PRS locations have been commissioned upto December, 2010. 20 PRS have been commissioned in Post Offices. 40 more Post Office locations have been identified for new PRS. Under the New Catering Policy, 7 mobile units out of 14 and 1006 static units out of 1073 have now been taken over by Western Railway. Janata Khana is available and sold at all the Refreshment Rooms at stations and in pantry cars of trains over Western Railway. The availability and quality of Janata Khana is being monitored on a regular basis. Catering Monitoring Cells at headquarters as well as divisions are functioning for quick redressal of catering complaints.

Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water plants have been installed in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Godhra, Junagadh, Chorwad, Navagadh, Rajkot and Mumbai Central stations. Battery operated vehicles for disabled and aged passengers have been provided at Mumbai Central, Rajkot and Ahmedabad stations. Airport type self - service luggage trolleys are provided at Ahmedabad, Mumbai Central, Vadodara, Bharuch, Chittaurgarh, Rajkot and Indore stations. In order to provide real time information to passengers through automatic display system, integration of Passenger Information Display System with National Train Enquiry System has been started at Borivali station. The newly constructed state-of-the-art station buildings at Borivali and Andheri have started functioning. 6 passenger lifts have been planned to be provided at various platforms of Ahmedabad and Rajkot stations. Escalators at Andheri, Borivali, Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Ratlam stations have also been planned. Upto December, 2010 Computerised Online Railway Receipt at 25 more locations have been provided. For quick disposal of passenger's complaints, Fast Track Complaint Redressal System has been introduced recently.

Mumbai Suburban Rail Transport has always been given due priority by Western Railway. For comfort & convenience of commuters, Western Railway converted 127 nine car services to twelve car services last year. Due to this, the carrying capacity of these trains is increased by 33 per cent. Today, we are converting fifty one more nine car services to twelve car, thus the total number of twelve car services will now become 896 i.e. 74% of the total 1210 services. There has been a 75% increase in twelve car services in the last three years. Also platform No. 3/4 at Churchgate station is being extended to accommodate fifteen car trains. Realising the growing needs of passengers, Western Railway has planned to construct 30 new FOBs in the near future. Three FOBs have recently been provided at Goregaon, Vasai Road & Nalasopara. Three FOBs are under construction at Elphinstone Road, Nalasopara & Bhayander and eight New FOBs are sanctioned at Mahalaxmi, Dadar, Lower Parel, Matunga Road, Vile Parle, Malad, Kandivali and Goregaon. We have opened a Passenger Reservation System at Santacruz. Work of Raising of platforms over Mumbai suburban stations at 21 platforms has been completed and it is in progress at nine other platforms.

26th January, 2011

Western Railway, General Manager’s Office, Churchgate, Mumbai - 400 020.

R.N. VermaGeneral Manager

Jai Hind !

Western Railway has comprehensively implemented the schemes for on board housekeeping services, mechanised cleaning of coaches, pest and rodent control at all the identified depots and

trains. A mechanised laundry has been set up at Indore in Ratlam Division for improving quality of linen supplied to the passengers. Plans are underway for taking similar action for setting up mechanized laundry at

Ahmedabad and Mumbai Central. These efforts will further improve the quality of linen being supplied to our users. Energy conservation is the need for a green and friendly environment. With effective steps taken by Western Railway to conserve energy, a

saving of Rs. 27.5 crore has been achieved last year. In the scenario of depleting conventional source of energy, solar energy is being progressively used over Western Railway. 131 number of LC Gates have been electrified on solar power. Lighting at three LC Gates has been successfully provided with combination of solar and wind hybrid system. Eco friendly traction motor gear case cleaning plant has been developed at Electric Loco Shed, Valsad. To improve safety performance of the electric crew, utilisation of electric loco simulator has been increased by 35% during the financial year.

Western Railway has always accorded top priority to safety. There has been a significant reduction in the number of accidents caused due to human error as compared to the previous year. But the increase in number of accidents at unmanned railway crossings is a cause for concern and calls for concerted efforts. Infrastructure for manning 145 LCs has already been provided, out of which manning has been done at 16 LCs while manning of remaining LCs will also be done soon. 19 LC Gates have been inter-locked. In order to ensure safety of trains in areas prone to have dense fog, a "fog safe" device has been developed. It is being installed in Ratlam-Ujjain-Indore section on experimental basis.

Accidents at Unmanned Level Crossing gates resulting into loss/injury to human lives have been a great cause of concern to all of us. While action is being taken to man and interlock gates having heavy traffic besides building up ROBs, RUBs, Medium Height Subways, Normal Height Subways, etc in co-operation with state governments, there is a need for greater co-operation from road users too. Ambush checks with City Police, education of road users and massive campaign through advertisements are being launched regularly for safety at level crossings. To educate road users about precautions while crossing the unmanned level crossing, massive campaigns have been launched through cinema slides, nukkad nataks, pamphlets, posters, sanraksha rath, etc. Western Railway has also designed precast concrete type of speed breakers which are easily maintainable especially on kacha roads. We have taken a new initiative for creating awareness by sending one crore SMSes to mobile users of rural and semi-urban areas of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan regarding safety at Unmanned Level Crossings.

Irregularities in issue of reserved tickets and also normal tickets at booking counters have been one area of major complaints from public. While internet ticketing and e-ticketing have to a large extent, helped passengers in this direction, frequent checks have been conducted at Reservation Centres to arrest touting activities. Upto December 2010, 183 touts were apprehended under Railway Act and prosecuted, out of which 14 touts were convicted.

Western Railway is taking help of technological advancements to ensure simplification of procedures and thus giving convenience to public and avoid complaints. Western Railway is piloting implementation of e-Auction Module slated to be switched to e-governance. We have already switched over to 100% e-procurement system.

Health of railway men and their families is of utmost importance to us. Steps in this direction are being taken by providing enhanced medical facilities and health care to employees. Cardiovascular Thoracic Department is being set up which will help in attending all sorts of Cardiac problems. High resolution Mano metry and 24 hours PH metry unit has been installed in Gastroenterology Centre of Jagjivan Ram Hospital. New OPD Centre and Dental Unit are being set up at Pratap Nagar Hospital in Vadodara Division. For improvement of Jagjivan Ram Hospital another building of ground floor and seven storeys has also been planned.

thWestern Railway has once again reiterated its supremacy in the arena of sports by winning the Kaul Gold Cup for the 17 time in a row th thand is leading in the 18 year. 29 sportspersons from Western Railway represented India in the 19 Commonwealth Games, 2010 held at New

Delhi and won 6 medals in various events. Shri Rajendra Kumar and Shri Narsingh Yadav won Gold Medals in Wrestling, Shri Renjith Maheshwari won bronze in Triple Jump event and Ms. Suma Shirur won a Bronze Medal in Rifle Shooting. Shri Nitin Ghule was the member of the

thGold medal Kabaddi team of the 16 Asian Games, held at Guangzhou, China. Staff welfare has always been a prime concern of this Railway. A number of steps have been taken for the benefit of the employees.

Community Centres have already been provided at Ujjain, Gandhidham, Sabarmati, Hapa, Valsad and Godhra. Plans have been made to provide it at Vileparle and Jetalsar. During the current year, Hostels have been provided for the wards of railway employees at Ahmmedabad and Matunga Road. A new Creche has also been provided at Ahmedabad. As a new initiative, information kiosks have been provided at headquarters as well as in divisions which give information regarding salary, provident fund, leave etc. to the employees. Staff Grievance Camps are organized regularly for the prompt redressal of the grievances of the staff. All eligible Group C and D staff have been granted MACP benefits. In order to fill up vacancies, notifications for Group D recruitment have also been issued.

We are thankful to Western Railway Women's Social Service Committee which has extended commendable help to large number of needy staff and their families, especially in areas where administration has some limitations. WRWSSC has granted scholarships to the wards of railwaymen to encourage them to pursue higher studies. For the benefit and facility of large number of patients, they have been extending a helping hand to railway hospitals across Western Railway, notably amongst them are an AC mini bus which is used normally for transporting cancer patients, AC ambulance, chapati maker, ventilator, beds and steel benches. Besides this, they have also contributed three ambulances to Mumbai Central Division for carrying the passengers who get injured in various untoward incidences. To provide clean drinking water to the patients, the committee has donated Reverse Osmosis plants to all divisional hospitals over Western Railway. This Railway expresses its gratitude to WRWSSC for their kind help extended to the railway men.

Industrial Relations play a very important role in ensuring efficient management and better man power productivity. Our recognized trade unions, as always, have played a constructive role in fostering cordial industrial relations which has resulted in improving our productivity. I thank them for their co-operation and support.

Western Railway is a fast growing railway both in terms of passenger and freight traffic. The presence of big ports like Mundra, Kandla, Pipavav and Dahej is going to generate huge traffic. While the Railways have taken action to augment capacity to match this projected traffic, planned developmental works will have to be finished fast besides planning for further capacity enhancement work. The path ahead is very challenging but not impossible. Our railwaymen have always displayed hard work in providing satisfactory services to our users. I am sure that our railwaymen will, as always, rise to the occasions and continue to strive hard with renewed zeal and dedication to achieve the desired goals in future. I am confident that all railwaymen will perform their duty with the same enthusiasm and turn every dream into a reality. On this momentous occasion, I once again take this opportunity to congratulate you and convey my best wishes to you and your family.