Railway Board Chairman Satish Kumar told the Press Trust of India that there is an urgent requirement for additional manpower to maintain the railways’ ever-increasing assets and safe train operations. As per the reports, this has hinted at a huge recruitment in the Railways. The Board Chairman Satish also urged the Finance Ministry to give the board the power to form non-gazetted posts in safety and essential categories. The Board Chairman wrote a letter to Manoj Govil, the Secretary (Expenditure) in the Finance Ministry. In the latter, Satish wrote that over the last few years, Railways has witnessed a significant increase in capital expenditure. This increase has been from Rs 1.48 trillion (Rs 1,48,000) in 2019-20 to 2.62 trillion (Rs 2,62,000) in 2023-24. According to the Railway Board Chairman, “This capital expenditure is resulting in a significant increase in assets for which adequate manpower is required for Reliable and Safe Train Operation.”
Satish added that these assets will further increase in coming years considering the Railways target of Mission 3,000 million tons (300 crore tons) (by 2030) from the current level of 1,610 MT (161 crore tons). According to him, to achieve this objective, more trains will have to be run which requires additional workers for both train running and infrastructure maintenance. The Railway Board Chairman said that according to the existing instruction of the Department of Expenditure (DoE), Ministry of Finance, the creation of posts (except crew review in railway) requires the approval of the Department of Expenditure.
Satish has also attached a summary of new assets created in the Railways over the past five years. According to the summary, track circuits increased by 269 per cent, railway electrification by 79 per cent and loco sheds holding both electric and diesel locos by 227 per cent. The summary also showed a 486 per cent increase in the coverage of Kavach on route km, a 59 per cent increase in locomotives and a 30 per cent increase in train coaches. The Railway Board Chairman cited many reasons like effective monitoring and execution of various projects, maintenance of new assets and smooth and safe operation of trains for additional staff in the Railways.
