Hyderabad (INN): Railway Board Chairman A.K. Mital addressed a national seminar on “Safety in Indian Railways – Role of Signalling & Telecommunication (S&T) Department” organised by the National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR) at Rail Kalarang in Secunderabad on Saturday.
The Chairman Railway Board, who was the Chief Guest at the seminar, stressed that the role of S&T Department is very vital towards safety of rail operations. Spelling out the objective of Indian Railways, he said that the rail network should be comparable to the best anywhere in the world and passengers shall feel absolute safe to travel on the system.
With technology evolving very fast, the need is to upgrade, absorb and assimilate technology to better use, so as to improve the reliability of the railway system. He called upon the railway force to work towards zero failure of assets and in case of any failure, to rectify the same in the least possible time.
Indian Railways is geared to invest enough in upgrading both technology and manpower skills, Mital informed and added that there shall be no doubts with regard to safety, when train speeds are increased.
The Seminar, which is focused on the role of S&T Department has come at an appropriate time, with the focus of Indian Railways also tuned towards Safety as first priority. He assured that needed steps will be taken, wherever required to redress issues concerning the S&T workforce.
Earlier, SCR General Manager Ravindra Gupta lauded NFIR for organising the Seminar on Safety and made a pitch for re-skilling and multi-skilling of technical staff on the Railways, so as to enhance the efficiency of the system. In the present times, signalling assets have spread all over the rail network and it is a big challenge to maintain the same. Remote monitoring of assets, hence needs to be planned, he opined.
Whatever technology is imbibed on Indian Railways, it is essential that the same shall withstand all weather conditions, he stressed. The General Manager expected that the Seminar will be able to contribute in devising the policy and direction for S&T Department.
Railway Board Additional Member (Signal) Akhil Agarwal in his address spoke of the vital role that the S&T Departments place in keeping the trains moving. Training of manpower and technology modernisation are essential parameters of the S&T wing, to develop the railway system. While training of staff shall be a priority, there cannot be any compromise on safety of the S&T staff during the course of performing their duties, he stressed and added that safety gadgets will be used to enhance safe working conditions of S&T personnel.
M. Raghavaiah, General Secretary, NFIR in his special address called upon the S&T workforce to pledge themselves towards working with commitment towards a ‘Zero Accident Record’. The seminar is to enhance safety conscious levels of S&T workforce and deliberate on their productivity and working conditions, he stated.
The Seminar was presided over by NFIR President Guman Singh and attended by several senior officials.