Passenger safety, human resources top priority, says Railway chief

Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani that Railways was paying special attention to the development of human resources

Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani today said that the Railways was paying special attention to the development of human resources, even as it gave the highest priority to passenger safety.  

He was speaking this afternoon after inspecting the construction work at Habibganj station here which is being developed under the public private partnership model (PPP) and whose work is expected to be completed by December 31 this year. 

“The issue of passenger safety in the Railways has been important to us. To deal with this, we are focusing on the development of human resources. We have established direct dialogue with the staff. There should be a stress free work environment for loco pilots and they are being counselled to make them stress free. Running rooms are being provided air conditioning,” he said. 

He added that locomotive pilots were not being terminated from service for skipping signals but were being shifted to other railway works. 

He said the railways was working towards providing toilets and air-conditioning in locomotives.  

Asked about the implementation of competitive fare pricing like airlines, he said, “There is competition among the airlines and so they can use this type of fare pricing.  But this can’t be done in the Railways as conditions are different.”