South Central Railway celebrated the73rdRepublic Day with gaiety and National fervour at Railway Sports Complex Grounds, Secunderabad todayi.e., 26thJanuary,2022. Shri Sanjiv Agarwal, Additional General Manager (L/A) and Principal Chief Engineer, South Central Railway, who was the Chief Guest on the occasion unfurled the National Flag and received the Guard of Honor presented by various contingents of Railway Protection Force.
Delivering his address on the occasion, Shri Sanjiv Agarwal, Addl. General Manager(Looking After) stated that the dawn of 26th January each year heralds the commemoration of our Republic, the day when the Constitution of India had come into effect. On this momentous occasion of the 73rd Republic Day, he extends his heartfelt wishes to entire Railway fraternity. Elaborating on the priorities of the Zone, he said that the Zone continues its rich legacy of putting in its best performance across various fields to be amongst best over Indian Railways. Firstly, our Material Management continues to be the best among Indian Railways with SCR bagging the Railway Board Shield for the tenth consecutive year. With standing the challenges posed by the COVID Pandemic, Team SCR has put in remarkable effort to exhibit outstanding performance in all spheres of work during the current financial year. He stated that the originating earnings of the Zone have grown by a whopping 59% to record Rs.10,156 crores earnings till December 2021. The turnaround story in the freight segment has been a major contributor with the Zone loading 85.47 MTs of freight in the current financial year. Significantly, our freight basket has been diversified with Non-Coal commodities now contributing 52% to our total loading compared to 44% in 2019. The intensive focus laid on supply of essential commodities combined with the importance given to supporting agricultural-related commodities has resulted in the Zone achieving its best-ever Parcel earnings since its inception. The well-thought and calibrated re-introduction of our Coaching Trains has been instrumental in the Zone safely transporting 82 Million passengers till December 2021 he added.
He also stated that safety in train operations is the top most priority for the Zone. To enhance safety in its operation, 51 manned level crossings have been eliminated by the Zone in the current financial year. SCR continues to lead Indian Railways in the deployment of Kavach – the indigenous Train Collision Avoidance System. Kavach has now been extended to another 527 Route Kms, 57 locations and 26 locomotives during the current financial year. The Zone’s continuous zeal in expanding its rail network has led to 163 kms of track being commissioned. The Zone has also electrified additionally 118 Route Kms of its rail network.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Sanjiv Agarwal stated that taking forward the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India’s Atma Nirbhar Bharath got a boost over the Zone in the current financial year with the S&T workshop, Mettuguda getting approval for manufacturing Point Machines. This is only the third Workshop over Indian Railways having the in-house capability to manufacture Point machines. SCR has always believed in growing along the sustainable path and has been continuously taking innovative steps for promoting Green initiatives over its network. In the current financial year, the Zone has commissioned 510 kWp of solar panels for tapping renewable energy. While 16 additional pairs of trains are now being operated with electric traction, another 16 pairs of trains have been converted to operate with HOG technology resulting in combined savings of Rs 54 crores per annum. In recognition of its Green initiatives, SCR received 15 Energy Conservation Awards in the current financial year ranging from Ministry of Power, Confederation of Indian Industry to State Governments of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Shri. Sanjiv Agarwal stated that employees are the core strength of any organisation. Accordingly, several proactive steps are being taken towards the welfare of its team members. In the present, Covid testing time the Zone has strengthened Hospital infrastructure with necessary facilities to cater to the medical requirements of our employees and their families. Another valuable addition in this regard has been the commissioning of Nine PSA Oxygen Plants at Seven Railway Hospitals across the Zone having a total combined capacity of 2,270 litres per minute, for meeting the Oxygen requirement.
Shri Sanjiv Agarwal called upon the entire SCR workforce to commit ourselves to serve the Nation and attain the goals set by our organisation. He also stated that collective hard work and dedication will take the Zone to new heights of success.
