South Western Railway Headquarters celebrated the 69th Republic Day on 26th January, 2017, at the Railway Sports Ground, Club Road, Hubballi. Shri A.K. Gupta, General Manager was the Chief Guest. He unfurled the National Flag, inspected the parade and received General Salute from the Parade.
In his address, Shri Gupta said that South Western Railway accords highest priority to Safety in train operations.
He said that South Western Railway will achieve highest ever track renewal of approximately 200 Km this year, he added.
Towards increasing train services, 10 new trains have been introduced this year and 6 trains extended. New Trains Introduced in 2017-18: 10 Trains:
1) 16575/16576 Mangaluru Jn – Yesvantpur – Triweekly Express
2) 06594/06593 Baiyyappanahalli – Whitefield – Baiyyappanahalli – Daily MEMU
3) 07325/07326 Hubli – Mysuru – Hubli Daily Express (via KSR Bengaluru)
4) 17323/17324 Hubli – Varanasi – Hubli Weekly Express
5) 22833/22834 Krishnarajapuram-Bhubaneswar-Krishnarajapuram Weekly Humsafar Express
140 Suvidha Trains and 2088 Special Trains were run. Also, 1753 Extra coaches attached to trains uptill December. SWR carried 150 million passengers during the first 9 months of the year which is 2.2% more than last year. The originating freight earnings during the first 9 months are Rs.2440 Crores.
Two land mark initiatives viz., signing of Long Term Tariff Contract and procurement of rake under Liberalized Wagon Investment Scheme have been taken place in South Western Railway this year with respect to one of main customers viz., M/s.JSW.
He stated that in SWR, doubling and electrification works have been sanctioned on all mainlines and are under execution in fast pace. 30 Km of new line between Bagalkot-Khajjdoni is ready for opening. Electrification from Ramanagaram to Mysuru (94Km) has been completed this year. Doubling of 31 Km has been completed so far.
“Swachch Rail, Swachch Bharat” has been adopted as a mantra on the Railway. Mechanized cleaning of coaches has been introduced in all 7 coaching depots of SWR. Eco-friendly bio-toilets have been provided in about 900 coaches on the Railway. As part of green initiatives, 665 Kwp roof top solar panels have been commissioned all over SWR including Rail Soudha this year. Water harvesting plants have been commissioned at Rail Soudha, Mysuru and at many other stations. Water recycling plant has been commissioned at Mysuru. He proudly presented that both the workshops received IMS, ISO Certification and Gold Rating by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) under GreenCo – Green Company Rating System this year.
Continuing our efforts at improving passenger amenities, 3 escalators & 8 lifts have been commissioned during the year so far. High speed Wi-fi has been provided at 8 stations. Under Unique operation Nanhe Farishte, RPF have rescued more than 1000 children this year, living up to motto on South Western Railway “We care, we serve”, he added.
He complimented all the officers, supervisors and staff for their commitment and hard work and exalted them to continue to work in same spirit and renewed vigour.
For the first time in the history of this Zone, tableaus were displayed on the occasion by Engineering, Safety, Mechanical & Personnel Departments and South Western Railway Women’s Welfare Organization (SWRWWO) School and Railway English Medium School. The tableau of Engineering department was the main attraction, depicting Push trolley Inspection of Railway track and Ultrasonic flaw detection test of results & key man at work.
After the address of Chief Guest, a colourful cultural programme was performed by railway employees. Bharat Guides displayed Band Music. Later, Group Dance was performed by the Children of Railway School, South Western Railway Women’s Welfare Organisation School and Bharath Scouts & Guides. Patriotic songs were sung by railway employees.
GM, South Western Railways has launched “SWR-Railkarmi” App which has link for all 7(Seven) units – Hubli division, Bangalore division, Mysore division, Hubli workshop, Mysore workshop and construction unit . Staff can access their SRs, APARs and salary details.
On the occasion, Shri A.K. Gupta, General Manager distributed cash awards to the staff, scouts & Guides and performers of the cultural programme. Railway Officers and staff in large number participated in the Celebrations along with their family members.
Shri B.B. Singh, Additional General Manager; Shri Ishwar Rao, Chief Security Commissioner; Shri S.K.Albela, Chief Personnel Officer; Shri P.A. Lamghare, Chief Mechanical Engineer; Shri G.J.Prasad, Chief Operations Manager; Shri K. Siva Prasad, Chief Commercial Manager; Shri U.S.S.Yadav Principal Chief Engineer; Smt. E.Vijaya, Chief Public Relations Officer & Deputy General Manager and other officers and staff attended the function.
Full Text of General Manager/SWR’s 69th Republic Day Message-2018 at Hubballi
Dear Officers and staff of South Western Railway, their family members, President & Members of Executive Committee of South Western Railway Women’s Welfare Organization, representatives of recognized Union and Associations, Members of the security force and representatives of Press & Media.
On the occasion of celebration of 69th Republic Day of our nation, I convey my warmest greetings to you all along with millions of our valued customers.
The country in general and Indian Railway in particular is going through various stages of transformation. There have been major changes on the IT front including Aadhar based identification of citizens, new GST bill and other initiatives. In Indian Railway also a new result oriented approach is the order of the day with the empowerment of officers and supervisors at various levels as part of transformation drive. It is a challenge and opportunity to rise to the occasion by improving the delivery under the able leadership of our new Chairman Railway Board and the new Rail Minister.
There is also a new approach to safety. Maintenance of assets, vital infrastructure like track and rolling stock has to be kept in good fettle. Proper inputs have to be given to improve the health of the assets and laid down standard followed. With this aim in mind, unlimited funds are being made available for safety related works.
South Western Railway accords highest priority to Safety in train operations. Safety consciousness of our frontline staff is most important in safe running of trains. Safety drives & Safety Campaigns are being conducted by Headquarters & Divisional Safety teams regularly on identified focused areas to emphasize importance of adherence to safety norms. I appeal to staff of South Western Railway to continue to be vigilant and safety minded on duty.
In this direction, highest priority is being given to track renewals & these works are being taken up in a planned manner, even by regulating trains. We are confident of achieving highest ever track renewal of approximately 200 Km this year. We have to put in best efforts for optimizing output of track machines and progress of track works simultaneously along with punctual running of trains.
Towards increasing train services, 5 new trains have been introduced this year and 6 trains extended. 140 Suvidha Trains and 2088 Special Trains were run. Also, 1753 Extra coaches attached to trains uptill December. SWR carried 150 million passengers during the first 9 months of the year which is 2.2% more than last year. The originating freight earnings during the first 9 months are Rs.2440 Crores.
The freight loading during first 9 months of this financial year is 32 Million Tonnes. We have to work with renewed vigour to increase the loading on the Railway as done in the past every year.
Two land mark initiatives viz., signing of Long Term Tariff Contract and procurement of rake under Liberallized Wagon Investment Scheme have been taken place this year with respect to one of our main customers viz., M/s.JSW. I am sure these initiatives will go a long way in boosting our freight traffic further.
Indian Railways is undertaking infrastructure development with massive investment for all round economic growth. In SWR too, doubling and electrification works have been sanctioned on all mainlines and are under fast track execution. 30 Km of new line between Bagalkot-Khajjdoni is ready for opening. Electrification from Ramanagaram to Mysuru (94Km) has been completed this year. Doubling of 31 Km has been completed so far.
“Swachch Rail, Swachch Bharat” has been adopted as a mantra on the Railway. Mechanized cleaning of coaches has been introduced in all 7 coaching depots of SWR. Eco-friendly bio-toilets have been provided in about 900 coaches on the Railway. As part of green initiatives, 665 Kwp roof top solar panels have been commissioned all over SWR including Rail Soudha this year. Water harvesting plants have been commissioned at Rail Soudha, Mysuru and at many other stations. Water recycling plant has been commissioned at Mysuru. I am happy to inform our both workshops received IMS, ISO Certification and Gold Rating by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) under GreenCo – Green Company Rating System this year.
Continuing our efforts at improving passenger amenities, 8 escalators & 3 lifts have been commissioned during the year so far. High speed Wi-fi has been provided at 8 stations. We are utilizing social media effectively for dissemination of information. Under Unique operation Nanhe Farishte, our RPF have rescued more than 1000 children this year, living up to our motto “We care, we serve”
On the Sports front, this year SWR organized Inter-Railway Cross Country 10 Km Championship at Goa in Dec 2017. Sri Pardesh, an employee of Bengaluru Division won the bronze medal.
The Scouts & Guides and Civil Defence staff of SWR actively involved in various awareness campaigns on unmanned level crossings and Swachh Bharat. Cubs & Bulbuls Utsav was organized in Dec.2017 at Mysuru.
One of the biggest strength of SWR is its diligent and dedicated workforce. Digitization of service records in Hubballi Division & “Rail Karmi” App developed by Bengaluru division are steps in this direction. I am happy to say that from December onwards Hubballi Division is able to credit retirement benefits for employees within one month of superannuation.
Project Saksham has been launched to improve skills & competency of staff for performing their work. SWR was the first on IR to launch training under this project. Staff employed by contractors at construction work sites & OBHS are also being trained in order to improve their performance and better safety orientation as well as service to passengers.
All these achievements have been possible only with positive support of recognized trade unions and other associations of South Western Railway. I thank them for their co-operation and maintaining harmonious industrial relations.
We appreciate the continuous contribution of South Western Railway Women’s Welfare Organization (SWRWWO) in the service of Railway men and their families and thank them whole heartedly for the same.
I take this opportunity to compliment all the officers, supervisors and staff for their commitment and hard work and exalt them to continue to work in same spirit and renewed vigour.
On this auspicious day, let us resolve to face the challenges and conquer new mile stones in the path of development of the nation.