The Indian Railways is the largest railway system in the world that is under a single management, the Ministry of Railways, Government of India.
But by size, the nation’s railway system is only the fifth largest in the world and the second largest in Asia.
Mr. R. Rajamani, Former Chief Commissioner of Indian Railways, shared these facts with Amrita students during his recent talk at Amrita on Safety in Rail Transport.
One objective of Mr. Rajamani’s talk was also to discuss career opportunities for graduates in the Indian Railways.
“I never regretted the day that I joined the railways. It was a very rewarding experience for me. I could fulfill my desires, Working in the railways was overall very satisfying,” he stated.
“Opportunities exist for everyone in the railways, regardless of the branch of study. It is an interesting career one can pursue, and with diligence and hard work, one can rise to the top-most position,” he added.
Mentioning the All India Engineering Services Examination and the Railway Recruitment Board Examination, he explained about these two gateways, if one wanted to pursue a prosperous career in the Indian Railways.
Commenting on safety measures taken by the Indian Railways to ensure a safe journey for all its passengers, he said, “There are many employees who constantly monitor everything. Vulnerable locations such as bridges, gradients through which the train passes, are all guarded by watchmen. Major stations have railway platform pits. The carriage and wagon staff members go down the pits to examine the train and rectify problems, if any. Light reflective boards along the rail routes also help.”
Explaining the role of the loco pilots in ensuring safety, he said, “Loco pilots are those who drive the locomotive. They are in charge of and responsible for all train handling. Tests are conducted for them at regular intervals to check their psychological and physical fitness. Adequate time for rest is allotted for them.”
“Rail transport is safer compared to other forms of surface transport. Indian Railways has been running very efficiently and smoothly. Even though rail transport is more or less safe, we cannot take safety for granted. A lot of effort is taken by the Indian Railways to guarantee a safe journey to passengers,” he summed up.
“The session was very interesting. It was different from other technical talks that we usually attend. The talk helped us gain a deeper insight into the workings of the Indian Railways,” shared Sonu Jalam, final-year BTech student of Mechanical Engineering.
“Safety in any transport system is always a major concern. This talk made me understand how much effort is being taken by the Indian Railways to provide us a comfortable, and at the same time, a safe journey,” responded Sonu’s classmate, Achu Sreekumar.
October 31, 2012
School of Engineering, Amritapuri
