Railways urgently need workers
Railway Board Chairman Satish Kumar said on Friday that there is an urgent need for extra staff to take care of the ever-increasing property of the railways. He said that the Finance Ministry has been requested to give the board the power to create non-gazetted posts in security and essential categories. In a letter to Secretary (Expenditure) Manoj Goel in the Finance Ministry, Satish Kumar said that the capital expenditure in the railways has increased significantly in the last few years. It has increased from Rs 1.48 lakh crore in 2019-20 to Rs 2.62 lakh crore in 2023-24.
There has been a tremendous increase in the property of railways
Satish Kumar said, “Due to this capital expenditure, the railway property has also increased significantly, which requires adequate manpower for reliable and safe rail operations.” He said that in view of the railway’s mission of 300 crore tonnes (by 2030), these properties will increase even more in the coming years. This capacity is currently 161 crore tonnes. He argued that to achieve this target, more trains will have to be run, which will require more employees to run the trains and maintain the infrastructure.
The chairman attacked in the letter, details of 5 years
The Railway Board Chairman said, “As per the current instructions of the Department of Expenditure (DoE), Ministry of Finance, creation of posts (except crew review in railways) requires the approval of the Department of Expenditure.” He has also attached details of new assets created in the railways in the last five years in the letter. According to this, there has been an increase of 269 percent in track circuits, 79 percent in railway electrification and 227 percent in loco sheds with both electric and diesel engines.
Urgent need of extra employees in railways
There has been a 486 per cent increase in cover, 59 per cent increase in engines and 30 per cent increase in train coaches. The chairman said there is an urgent need for additional staff on the railways citing various reasons such as effective monitoring and execution of various projects, maintenance of new assets and smooth and safe running of trains.
With PTI inputs
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