ARINDAM GANGULY, OP
Delhi: The Indian Railways has set a target of achieving 100 per cent electrification in 2025 and efforts in that direction have surged, Union Minister of Railways, Information and Broadcasting, Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said Saturday. Speaking at the 69th Ati Vishisht Rail Seva Puraskar at Bharat Mandapam here, Vaishnaw said along with the total electrification vision, three times more focus is being laid on safety, maintenance as well as improving quality of service through professional training to the staff in order to give world-class experience to commuters.
On the occasion, Vaishnaw conferred the Ati Vishisht Rail Seva Puraskar to 101 railway officials for exemplary performance and 22 shields to best-performing zones in different categories. Vaishnaw congratulated the awardees for their exceptional work and highlighted the transformative progress achieved in Indian Railways over the past decade. He emphasised the rapid construction pace, completing projects like the Kashmir to Kanyakumari rail link and pending North-East connectivity initiatives. He said projects such as Vande Bharat, Namo Bharat, and the freight corridors have gained momentum.
Speaking on safety, Vaishnaw said the Kavach safety system has been implemented on a massive scale. He also underlined the progress in station redevelopment, reduction in consequential accidents (from 345 to 90), and efficient filling of 1.5 lakh positions in the Railways without any complaints received in relation to the recruitment process. “Safety remains a top priority, with initiatives such as zero derailment zones being incentivised with shields and financial rewards,” Vaishnaw said while emphasising the integration of modern technology, policy reforms, and structural changes to ensure sustainable progress.
On the occasion, he announced financial rewards along with shields for bringing excellence in the work culture of Railways through excellent SMQT (safest, maintenance, quality and training) practices from next year. The 101 awardees of the 69th Ati Vishisht Rail Seva Puraskar have been selected across various categories, including innovation leading to improvement in productivity, revenue generation, safety, improvement in operation, security, project completion, and sports. Out of them, N Haripriya, Chief Commercial Inspector, Pradeep Kumar Jha, Protocol Officer and Suprabhat Mitra, Technical grade-II belong to ECoR. The 22 shields were presented to the best-performing Railway zones in various categories. East Coast Railway jointly won Electrical Engineering Shield with Central Railway. East Coast Railway General Manager Parmeshwar Funkwal received the shield.
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