NEW DELHI: Safety and punctuality are the two most important areas that Northern Railway will be focusing on in the coming days.
Speaking to The New Indian, General Manager of Northern Railway Shobhan Chaudhuri said, “The focus is on three, four areas. The first of all is safety, then punctuality and loading. The fourth is infrastructure development, be it to improve mobility, to lessen congestion, electrification and station redevelopment.”
“We have sufficient capability and capacity to carry out the traffic, which will increase in coming years. It is not about what is happening today. We have a vision,” Chaudhari said.
“The cement industry is producing cement that needs to be sent to different parts of the country, similarly, the iron industry is also (getting a boost). Transportation is also very important. So, taking all this into consideration, we have to increase our infrastructure also,” he said.
Punctuality remains one of the major issues that passengers face in India. In a significant order, the Supreme Court of India made Indian Railways pay a compensation of ₹30,000 to a passenger for a delay in reaching his destination station due to which he missed a flight.
A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) stated that although a voluptuous amount of rupees 2.5 lakh crore has been invested in developing the infrastructure of the Indian Railways in a span of 12 years, punctuality still remains a major issue.
Northern Railway runs over 1926 trains per day, carrying 15 lakh passengers per day, GM Chaudhari said. “As of now, there are 839 electric locos, but we will introduce more soon,” he added.
GM Chaudhari also said that the 50 km Baramulla-Uri segment in Kashmir will be ready for construction. “Tenders for surveying have been issued for the same,” he said, adding, “The completion of the project will help in train connection from the Uri border area.”