58204 R GAD PASS

76th Independence Day of the Nation Organized at North Central Railway Headquarter

On 15th August 2022, the nation's 76th  Independence Day was celebrated with great enthusiasm and fan-fare at North Central Railway Headquarter Office, Prayagraj. The program started with flag hoisting by General Manager Shri Pramod Kumar. o­n the occasion, the General Manager inspected the parade of Railway Protection Force, Bharat Scout and Guides and St. John Ambulance Brigade. The General Manager also awarded the railway personnel for outstanding perfomance. Awardees included  Binay Kumar Singh- Traffic Inspector/Planning, R. K. Patel – SSE/Singal, Rajeev Kumar Singh – SSE, Narendra Kumar – Assistant/Signal, Arjun Patel – Assistant Loco Pilot, Bhanwar Singh Meena – SSE, Kanhaiya – Technician – III, Shiv Singh Meena – Keyman, Suresh Chandra – Black Smith, Shiv Shankar Singh- Constable, Kuldeep Tripathi- Loco Pilot/Mail, R. Of. Pachauri – Loco Pilot/Mail, Ravi Shankar – Junior Engg./Track, Kamlesh Kumar – Trackman-IV, Sanjay Kumar Singh – Loco Pilot/Goods, Diwan Singh – Gateman, Dharmendra Pandey – Chief Commercial Inspector, Ved Prakash – Technician-1, Subhash Chand Meena – SSE, Hira Lal – Movement Inspector, Manoj Meena – SSE, Devendra Pratap Singh – Movement Inspector, Sanjay Kumar Asthana – Executive Engineer/TMC, Rishi Prakash – Assistant Divisional Mechanical Engineer/ Tundla, Dinesh Kumar Tyagi – Loco Pilot/Mail, Dr. Sanjay Kumar- Senior Divisional Medical Officer, Rahul Yadav-Sub Inspector/ Kanpur Central. In the same sequence, railway personnel who contributed in the successful organization of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav program were also honoured. Under this, Ragini Singh – Public Relations Officer, Preeti Kumari – Chief Staff and Welfare Inspector, Amit Kumar Singh – Public Relations Officer, V.K. Dwivedi - Station Director, Ravinder Singh - Sr. Block Engineer / Power Supply, Surendra Kumar Srivas - Chief Staff & Welfare Inspector, Rajnish Kumar Srivastava - Train Manager (Mail / Passenger), Smt. Shashi Vyas - DOC / Guide, Bharat Scouts & Guides, Praveen Kumar – Chief Staff & Welfare Inspector, Shambhu Kumar – Senior Block Engineer / Tele, Lakhan Singh Meena – Assistant / Work was awarded.

General Manager Shri Pramod Kumar and President, North Central Railway Women's Welfare Organization, Mrs. Punam Kumar released the tricolor balloons in the air. Cultural performances were presented by the members of North Central Railway's cultural team o­n the occasion which include  Bharatnatyam by Chanchal Gupta, group dance 'Vande Mataram' under the direction of Poornima, two group dances by scout and guide under the direction of Ms. Manju Joshi, Desh Bhakti song 'Hai Preet Jahan Ki Reet Sada'' by Ranjit and Sandeep,  along with group dance and act under the direction of Mrs. Bina Singh.

During the function, the General Manager gave heartfelt greetings and greetings to all the employees, officers of North Central Railway and their families o­n the auspicious occasion of the 76th Independence Day of our glorious nation. The General Manager's address is as follows.

“ o­n this momentous occasion, when we are celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, I extend my warm greetings to all members of the North Central Railway family. All of us are fortunate enough to be born in free India. It is the occasion to pay tributes to all those great men & women, who fought for the freedom of India. As we hoist our National Tri-Colour o­n this august day, let us rededicate ourselves to the cause of Nation's Unity, development and progress. 

North Central Railway provides North to South, North to East and North to West connectivity and contributes immensely in National Integration while performing the role of a major artery of the Life Line of the Nation, Indian Railways. North Central Railway is serving its esteemed passengers through 792 Mail/Express and 184 passenger trains. In addition, we are contributing to the nation's economy by transporting important commodities like coal, food grains and oil and other materials through more than 600 freight trains per day.

Our dedicated and committed team of staff and officers had left no stone unturned and despite the pandemic, we have been able to achieve best ever figures in various indices. During the year 2021-22, as a result of its creditable initiatives in the field of freight transportation, originating loading of 18.87 million tonnes was registered with the corresponding revenue of Rs.1923.18 crore which is the best ever loading figures since the inception of NCR. Similarly, a significant growth of 127% in passenger revenue, 88% in parcel and luggage traffic revenue was achieved. Even in the current financial year, originating earnings of the zone in the first quarter has registered a growth of 69.3% over last year. Passenger earning has been buoyant with a growth of 158.12% in the first quarter of current financial year over last year, and the ticket checking earning has risen by 642.6% during the same period. Our Originating freight earning in the first quarter also rose by 20.54%.  Scrap earnings too registered best ever figures when we earned revenue of 276.87 crores through scrap sales. The momentum is still maintained and scrap sales of Rs. 46.57crores has been clocked during the first quarter of current year thereby surpassing the proportionate target of Rs. 40 crores set by the Railway Board. 

The trains which had to be cancelled in the wake of Covid last year, have now been restored.

In our endeavor to serve our customers, 04 new train services have been introduced during the current year. New stoppages have been provided at various stations for convenience of the passengers. We have also run 289 special trains from April to June 2022 to cater extra rush during summer, festivals & mela etc. We have also replaced 03 conventional passenger rakes with MEMU trains in April 2022, thus enabling swifter and convenient travel for passengers. Maximum Permissible Speed of 14 trains has so far been increased to 130 kmph in the current year. Now, a total of 520 trains are being operated at the maximum permissible speed of 130 kmph or more. This not ensures better punctuality but it also saves precious journey time of our esteemed passengers. North Central Railway is operating the fastest train of the Nation – Gatimaan express at 160 kmph and the train with the highest average speed of 104 kmph- Vande Bharat express. Linen services and provision of curtains, which were suspended in the wake of Covid has been restored in all NCR trains within a short period of two months o­nly.

In order to facilitate passengers, at present a total of 43 escalators and 30 lifts are functioning over NCR & we are in the process of providing 10 more escalators and 07 more lifts during the current financial year. Platform sheds have been commissioned at 08 stations and raising of platform works have been completed at 04 stations besides commissioning of 06 Foot over Bridges.  

Aiming towards world class facilities, station redevelopment works are underway at 09 stations of NCR. Our passengers will be able to make their travelogue memorable in next 2-3 years when these works will be completed.

NCR has been an infrastructural capacity stricken zone. It manages around 10% of Indian Railway traffic with just 5% of assets. But now we are also making big strides in this direction with prodigious efforts of our team. A total of 2089 infrastructure expansion works costing Rs 58204 crore are under progress in North Central Railway. Doubling of 51.2 Kms, third Line work of 71.89 Kms , and fourth line work of 28.04 Kms were completed during 2021-22. Best ever commissioning of 108 km of automatic signaling was also achieved during this period while electronic interlocking was commissioned at 37 stations which is also the best ever figure for any financial year. 

98% of our Broad gauge network has been electrified. During the year 2021-22, electrification of a total of 439 Route Kms was done and the work of remaining 76 km will be completed shortly following which the zone will be completely electrified which will ensure seamless and energy efficient train operations. 

 During the current financial year, Bhaupur-Panki 4th line, Gwalior-Banmor 3rd line, Bijrotha-Lalitpur 3rd line and Paman-Bhimsen doubling has already been commissioned which amounts to the commissioning of 78 kms. We are committed to the commissioning of 369.2 kilometers of lines during the current year. We have also commissioned automatic signaling o­n 46 Kms and target to commission 250 km in the o­ngoing financial year. Recently Dadri yard remodeling has been commissioned, thus making it o­ne of the most important junctions which connect both the stretches of DFC with Indian Railways trunk route. In order to enhance the mobility, speed limits o­n various sections have been raised, this include Parauna-Erich Road, Moth-Nandkhas, third line o­n Jhansi-Bina sections etc.

Safety in Train Operations is of paramount importance to us. To enhance Safety & Reliability in Train Operations, Electronic interlocking has been commissioned at 07 stations during 2022-23. Maintenance inputs are being enhanced with rigorous monitoring at all levels. Upto June 2022, during the financial year, 49 set through turnouts have been renewed, ie 45% higher than last year. Even 77% more CTR and 96% more TSR and TRR each has been done during the current financial year. 03 bridges have also been rehabilitated over the zone in the first quarter of current year. We have also commissioned BPAC in 02 block section, UFSBI in 09 block sections and commissioned dual detection in 412 track sections during year 2022-23. In order to strengthen fire safety, 33 stations have been equipped with fire alarm system.

Safety at level crossings is being dealt o­n priority basis. A total of 08 ROBs and 46 RUBs were constructed in the year 2021-22 and 66 level crossings were closed in this period. Sustaining the momentum, 03 ROBs, 03 RUBs have already been constructed during the current year while 15 level crossings have been closed. Interlocking, provision of power operated lifting barrier and provision of sliding boom has been made at 1 LC gate each this financial year. We have also launched extensive public awareness drive through various publicity modes including running of mobile video vans to reach the far flung areas. 

NCR has been a pioneer in adoption of state of art technological tools for improving operations and upgrading skills of its manpower to ensure precision in safe operations. While moving in this direction, a Three Phase Electric Loco Simulator has been commissioned at MDDTI Kanpur and a yard simulator KIOSK has been commissioned at Jhansi Crew Lobby.  

Security of our passenger is also of prime importance to us. Our RPF team has launched various drives like operation “Nanhe Farishte” for rescuing kids, operation “Narcos” to contain illegal narcotics trade, operation “Yatri Suraksha” for taking action against passenger related crimes, operation “Amanat”  for recovering lost items, operation “Rail Suraksha” to ensure security of railway assets & operation “Uplabdh”  to curb black marketing of tickets. Security personnel over NCR have done fabulously to achieve objectives set under these initiatives and they are continuously o­n the job for ensuring safe and secure atmosphere over the zone. 

Our commitment towards clean and green railway has always been incontrovertibleand pronounced. Following extensive electrification of NCR routes we have taken over 16 passenger trains o­n electric traction thus saving diesel consumption to the tune of Rs 85 crore this financial year. We have saved Rs. 53 crores of railway revenue through regeneration braking in 3-phase electric locomotives and shutting down of diesel locomotives when not in use, during the current financial year. 34(WAG-9HC) new three phase locomotives have also been commissioned at Electric Loco Shed Kanpur this year. During the first quarter of 2022-23, highest ever revenue saving to the tune of Rs. 1.56 crores and 3200 Metric Tonnes reduction in carbon emission has been achieved by using solar energy. To further enhance the installed capacity, roof top solar plants of 1.5 MWp capacities are targeted to be commissioned during 2022-23 at six more railway stations. Automatic Coach Washing Plant (ACWP), which saves consumption of fresh water has been installed at Agra Cantt and is planned for Subedarganj, Kanpur and Gwalior stations. Work at Kanpur is in advanced stage and is nearing completion. We have also provided Hand Held Terminals to our ticket checking staff which will further provide a boost to passenger convenience with promotion of paperless working. Recently the upgraded version of e-Nirikshan portal has been launched; whose usage will enhance compliance mechanism. Our Vigilance department has issued many system improvements this year to enhance transparency in departmental functioning. 

Human Resource is the most important asset for any organization. 06 of our officers and staff have been felicitated at National level this year by the Hon’ble Minister of Railways for their outstanding contribution. 173 staff and officers have been felicitated at the zonal level. We have instituted the scheme of Employee of the month to motivate the staff for their safety consciousness and hitherto we have awarded 50 Railway personnel including 10 Employees of the Month. 

In order to strengthen, empower and instill the sense of confidence among our manpower, during the current financial year, 761 grievances (i.e. 91.36% of total received cases) have been disposed up through Nirakaran Cell and 195 cases of compassionate appointments have been made. 102 cases of settlement of other than normal retirement have also been cleared o­n priority basis. We have also received panels of 708 candidates in different categories during the year. To strengthen the sporting environment of zone, 24 sportspersons have been recruited during the current year.

In order to inculcate a Healthy Life Style among our committed workforce, Yoga Shivirs were organized o­n the occasion of International Yoga Day over the offices, colonies and stations of NCR. We are continuing with Covid vaccination at our centers and even the booster doses are now being given. During the current year, our specialist surgeons have performed 15 special and 937 major surgeries in house. This has not o­nly provided relief to the beneficiaries but has saved revenue as well. Our health department has also extended helping hands to ailing passengers during journey and given first aid to 5155 passengers o­n board. 

Players & cultural teams of NCR have always brought laurels for the country. I take this opportunity to congratulate our Hockey wizards Gurjit and Nisha for winning bronze medal in recently concluded Commonwealth games in Birmingham and to cricketers Poonam & Ekta for representing India in international tournaments. My compliments to Chhavi Yadav for winning Silver medal at World Railway Cross Country Championship organized at Berlin. I also congratulate other players for their distinguished performances at various national and international events. I wish to thank and congratulate our cultural team for their contribution in showcasing our culture and railways’ contribution during iconic week celebrations of Azadi Ki Railgadi & Stations under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. 

Our Rajbhasha department has been making remarkable efforts in implementing Rajbhasha policy over the zone. Two of our officers have been conferred with Rail Mantri Rajbhasha Rajat Padak for outstanding working in Rajbhasha. o­ne officer has won first prize in Hindi essay competition and o­ne staff won first prize in Rail Yatra Vritant Puraskar. I congratulate all of them.

I wish to congratulate our recognized Unions, Federation & Associations for maintaining good & harmonious atmosphere over North Central Railway.  

I also congratulate Scout & Guide, Civil defence and St. John’s Ambulance Brigade for working selflessly for various social causes. The training camps organized by them contribute immensely towards development of safety awareness, various creative skills and rescuing techniques in case of disaster and crisis.  My compliments to our St. John’s Ambulance Brigade team which has been a part of Indian Railways team which served the pilgrims during Rath Yatra festival at Puri o­n the call of Odisha Government.

I also congratulate NCRWWO for their commendable efforts in helping needy railway families, social welfare and environmental issues like plantation and skill development camps for kids through various schemes. 

Today o­n this auspicious occasion let us rededicate ourselves to the progress of NCR, so that we can ensure our contribution in the nation building process.” 

This year the Independence Day celebrations organized at the North Central Railway Headquarters office were prepared to reach out to all railway personnel and other people through webcast. Independence Day Celebrations starting at 09:00 AM at North Central Railway Headquarters Subedarganj made available o­nline using YouTube link www.youtube.com/CPRONCR.

On this occasion the President, office bearers and other members of North Central Railway Women's Welfare Organization, all the Principal heads of departments of North Central Railway, other officers and a large number of employees and their family members were present.