Railway minister inspects Chennai-Bengaluru section

Bengaluru: Minister of Railways, Electronics and IT and Communications, Ashwini Vaishnaw conducted rear-window inspection of the section from Dr MGR Chennai Central to Bengaluru Cantonment, on Friday. During the inspection, he reviewed various projects and policies with the officers of Southern (SR) and South Western Railways (SWR). The officers of SWR accompanied the Minister from Jolarpettai (the interchange point between SR and SWR).

Vaishnaw congratulated Sanjeev Kishore, General Manager SWR for his suggestion of empowering Divisional Units in order to fast track the construction works. He said that this discussion – which he had with the GM earlier- has resulted in setting up of 'Gati Shakti Units' at Divisional Level. Bengaluru Division is one of four divisions of Indian Railways (and the only division in South India) where-in PM Gati Shakti Unit has been set up, headed by Chief Project Manager (CPM), to head the projects (he would report to the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM).

The powers delegated to the CPM include the ability to utilize world-class consultant for preparation of DPRs, hire Project Management Consultants, & avail design assistance from industry, design checking, site tests, surveys etc. These units will work on speeding up the execution of works related to removal of infrastructure bottlenecks, improving mobility, increasing freight loading etc.

PM Gati Shakti National Masterplan was launched in October 2021 by PM Narendra Modi for providing multi-modal connectivity infrastructure for various economic zones. It is a transformative approach for economic growth and sustainable development driven by 7 engines, one of which is the Railways.

During the course of inspection, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had an open discussion with young officers and solicited suggestions and ideas on existing policies as well as those for new innovations. He listened earnestly to the suggestions put forth and appreciated the officers for the same. Among the ideas put forth were: innovation in wagon design for easy transport of trucks, unified interface for end-to-end seamless parcel transport etc.

Also, He advised the officers to conduct pilot projects on experimental basis and assured all possible support for the execution of innovative ideas which would enhance safety, improve operations and the revenue of the organization.