Western Railway GM hoisted the National Flag on 75th Independence Day

The 75th Independence Day was celebrated on Western Railway with the National Flag hoisted by Alok Kansal - General Manager of Western Railway. On this august occasion, he inspected the ceremonial parade of RPF and extended his greetings to all Railwaymen and their families. Tanuja Kansal - President of WRWWO along with executive committee members, Principal Heads of Departments, Divisional Railway Manager of Mumbai Central Division and senior railway officials were also present on this occasion.

At the outset, P C Sinha – IG cum Principal Chief Security Commissioner of Western Railway welcomed the General Manager on his arrival. According to a press release issued by Sumit Thakur - Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, Kansal in his Independence Day address enumerated the various achievements accomplished by Western Railway recently. In his address, GM stated that to serve the nation first even during the toughest challenges of COVID-19 pandemic, Western Railway has ensured that national interest should always be in our foremost thinking by following the good thought of "RASHTRA PRATHAM, SARVADA PRATHAM" and in this regard, we should always ignore our individual benefits.

Kansal stated that the year 2021 started on a bright note with the inauguration of the prestigious Dabhoi – Chandod – Kevadiya rail line project. Later, in the last month, history was created again when Prime Minister dedicated to the nation several major projects such as the redeveloped Gandhinagar Capital Railway Station, the newly electrified Surendranagar – Pipavav section, Mahesana – Varetha gauge converted cum electrified rail line alongwith redeveloped Vadnagar station.

GM Kansal in his speech emphasized upon the concept of "ANTYODAYA" & said that inspite of toughest challenges of COVID-19 pandemic, Western Railway has always given priority to serve the last person in society value chain. He said that in continuation to serve the marginalised customers of the society, Western Railway has played a pivotal role by successfully running 1234 Shramik special trains last year for carrying more than 18.50 lakh labourers to their hometowns. He emphasized that toilets in general coach and at small stations should be as good as bigger stations.

He said that this year has been a momentous year and Western Railway has scaled new heights in many spheres. The primary objective of Western Railway is to ensure safe and secure travel to passengers and no stone is left unturned to achieve it. In order to face the challenges posed by heavy rainfall during monsoon and to keep the wheels of Mumbai suburban trains running without disruptions, WR meticulously planned & executed various important monsoon related works in the suburban section on a mission mode.

Moreover, for the safety of commuters, WR has introduced state-of-the-art Mobile Train Radio Communication System for suburban trains, which is a first of its kind over IR. These measures go a long way towards WR's committed to run train services without interruptions & ensure that passengers reach their destination safely. In yet another passenger friendly initiative, a new era of train travel experience with enhanced comfort was rolled out by Western Railway, with the introduction of Tejas type SMART sleeper coach rakes in the prestigious Mumbai Rajdhani Express.

GM Kansal said that Western Railway has always taken good care of the important aspect of social harmony among all. He stated that Western Railway has played a major role in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, GM applauded the human centric acts of the Railway Protection Force and medical fraternity of WR as real Corona Warriors.

He also proudly mentioned about the talented sports persons of Western Railway who brought laurels not only to India but also to Indian Railways. The bronze medal win for the Indian men's hockey team in the Tokyo Olympics after 41 years made the entire nation proud! WR players, Amit Rohidas and Nilakanta Sharma were part of this team. Also, two of WR's women hockey players, Deep Grace Ekka and Navneet Kaur formed part of the Indian women's hockey team which reached the semi-finals with their splendid performance. Another sportsperson, Shreya Sakshena won silver medal at the International Shooting World Cup 2021.

Kansal also expressed heartfelt gratitude to President of Western Railway Women Welfare Organization (WRWWO) and her team for their significant contribution for the welfare of railway men and their families. WRWWO played an important role in the field of employee welfare and social service through its various activities.

Kansal stated that to serve the nation during toughest situation of COVID-19, Western Railway ran more than 100 Oxygen Express trains transporting around 9200 tonnes of Liquid Medical Oxygen across 9 states. Recently, PSA based oxygen generator plants have been commissioned at Vadodara and Ratlam which will ensure self-sufficiency of medical oxygen. In addition to these, 5 more will be commissioned soon.

WR has also intensified the vaccination drive, wherein more than 80% employees have been vaccinated with the 1st dose while about 20000 have taken their 2nd dose as well. In recognition of the selfless and dedicated work of WR's medical fraternity, the Ministry of Railways conferred the prestigious Comprehensive Health Care Shield for the year 2020 to Western Railway. GM stated that Western Railway is focusing on rapid growth of infrastructure to transform Indian Railways into a world class railway and is taking all efforts to ensure enhanced speed, safety & service.

Another prime objective is the enhancement of line capacity by addition & upgradation of infrastructure. During the current year from Jan 2021, 138 km of New Lines, Gauge Conversion and Doubling work have been completed. Several other infrastructural improvement works related to train mobility have also been completed on war footing. Various special safety drives were conducted regularly and due to the diligence to safety norms, there have been no instances of consequential accidents in the current year.

Kansal further mentioned that although the freight traffic suffered due to the COVID – 19 pandemic situations, WR has been able to continue the momentum and have performed exceptionally well in comparison to last year. Due to the sustained efforts, in the ongoing financial year, WR have achieved a loading of 30 MT & have surpassed last year's loading for the corresponding period by a commendable 26%. Also, Western Railway stands at Numero Uno position over Indian Railways in terms of Parcel revenue and NFR revenue and have achieved about Rs. 200 crores in parcel segment while approx. Rs.23 crores through NFR.

He further informed about the giant strides taken by Western Railway in the path towards Green Railway & Clean Railway. In this direction, record 579 RKM have been electrified during the year 2020-21 which is the second highest on Indian Railways. Various green initiatives have been implemented and in yet another novel initiative, Mumbai Central Division has initiated the installation of Solar Panels under New Innovative Non-Fare Revenue Ideas Scheme at 17 locations. This unique concept will not only help to garner revenue to the tune of Rs. 2.28 crores per annum, but will also promote green energy.

Kansal stated Western Railway has always been in the forefront in adopting various initiatives in a major push to the 'Digital India' campaign. These initiatives are being implemented in every aspect of Railway working. WR has installed Internet Protocol (IP) based Video Surveillance System (VSS) at 15 stations. This new-age digital surveillance network will help to keep a vigilant eye for the security of passengers. About 1850 POS & HTT machines have been provided to Ticket checking staff for accepting digital payments.

General Manager concluded with a token of appreciation to each and every employee who has gone beyond the call of duty to serve the nation and its people. He endorsed that all the above achievements have been possible because of hard and dedicated work by the staff. He added that WR will continue with the fight against COVID-19 and will strive harder to attain the desired goals. In the end of his speech GM Kansal motivated all railwaymen to take pledge to get rid of all bad thoughs & social evils which creates obstacles during performance of our duties.

On this occasion, a short awareness film titled Trespassing se Azadi was presented, through which Shri Kansal appealed to all passengers to refrain from trespassing and stated that "Apka Jeevan Anmol he sathiyon kyoki ghar par aapka koi intezaar kar raha hai." A brief about the short film was given by CPRO Sumit Thakur stating that Western Railway is committed towards its "Zero Trespassing Mission" & that this film will encourage people to break free from the bad habit of trespassing. The function ended with cultural program.