SER gears up track maintenance and safety related works
Track maintenance works during ongoing monsoon in SER jurisdiction
Kolkata: Monitoring of tracks and allied works are continuous activity and one of the most important part of train operations.Railway Engineers with supporting teams are engaged in track maintenance and are working round the clock to keep safe, secured and well-maintained railway track during the on-going monsoon.
Railway Engineers and supporting teams are continuously monitoring track maintenance works wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing for smooth running of SER’s Parcel, Freight and Special Trains considering need of the time and greater interest of the society.
The vast network of South Eastern Railway has been divided into various maintenance sections for close and thorough checkups & inspections. Security personnel are on patrol and Safety Inspectors are on constant vigil.
Railway tracks are being inspected on regular intervals toensure that every section is fit for train operation.Adequate steps are being taken to detect any crack or other changes in the track in view of keeping the life line of the country connected all the time.
To improve safety of running trains including disruption free services and also to minimize the effects of heavy rain fall, South Eastern Railway has taken the following precautionary steps during the ongoing monsoon:
* Close watch and monitoring of bridges, tracks, yards and signaling systems.
* To prevent water logging on track during ongoing monsoon, silt, vegetation and other obstructions have been cleared from catch water and side drains
* Time to time co-ordination is being maintained with the State Govt. officials
* Patrolling and Watch Man Teams have been deployed at vulnerable locations whenever there is heavy rain
* Sufficient quantity of monsoon reserve materials viz. boulders, sand, cinder, quarry dust, ballast etc. have been kept in stock
* Constant touch is being maintained with Meteorological Department.
SER has advised the concerned officials related to safety to be on full alert to tackle any untoward incident caused by heavy rain and flood situation near railway track for the safety of passengers and smooth train operations.
SER ensure uninterrupted supply of food grains and other essential commodities
South Eastern Railway has taken all possible measures in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic to ensure uninterrupted supply of food grains and other essential commodities. As per the guidelines given by the Ministry of Railways, SER has geared up its entire network for unabated movement of goods trains.
During the period from 1st April to 30th June, 2020, more than 1.63 lakh tonnes of food grains and salt have been unloaded from 74 rakes which arrived at different stations of Adra Division of South Eastern Railway.
Altogether 1,09,388 tonnes of rice was unloaded from 52 rakes and 46,553 tonnes of wheat was unloaded from 19 rakes. Moreover, 7,543 tonnes of salt was unloaded from 3 rakes.
The rakes were unloaded at different locations of Adra Division of South Eastern Railway viz. Purulia, Bankura, Bokaro Steel City, Adra, Chandil etc. during the period from 1st April to 30th June, 2020.
SER’s freight loading performance
During the unprecedented lockdowns in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, South Eastern Railway has made all out efforts to run freight and Parcel trains services to maintain uninterrupted supply of essential commodities and other freight items to every nook and corner of the country.
During the first quarter of the current financial year i.e. April-June of 2020-21, South Eastern Railway has loaded 31.34 million tonnes of freight. Earnings from freight loading during the above period have been Rs. 2474.87 crores.
SER to set up business developments units to increase the volume of freight traffic
With a view to extend the freight basket of Indian Railways, there is an urgent need to take planned measures to increase the existing volume of freight traffic. For this, S E Railway is making all out efforts to increase its share in traditional commodities being carried and a strong foray is made into miscellaneous non-bulk goods.
To attract these miscellaneous non-bulk commodities for transportation by rail, South Eastern Railway, in accordance with the directives given by Railway Board, has decided to set up a multi-disciplinary Business Development Unit (BDU) comprising of Senior Officers from various Departments at Zonal level coordinated by Chief Freight Transportation Manager.
Similarly, Business Development Units will also be set up at Divisional level and will be coordinated by Sr. Divisional Operations Manager of respective divisions.
The main objective of such BDUs will be to put forward lucrative offer to fetch business from the traders and industries by frequent interactions with them. Any proposal received from the traders will be given top priority and analysed promptly.
In addition to the above, BDUs will also be functional at Railway Board level with a view to facilitate and give clearance to the proposals received from the zonal Railways.
Industries and traders of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha who come under the jurisdiction of SER system may readily contact the concern officers in the Has and all four divisions of SER.