Bonhomie and a spirit of camaraderie marked the golden jubilee celebrations of Visakhapatnam Diesel Loco Shed (DLS) here on Saturday evening.
Retired officers recalled the glorious days, as they took a trip down the memory lane, and their collective efforts to put the DLS on the path of progress and their pride in the shed becoming the largest one in the country with a capacity of 231 locomotives.
Member (Mechanical), Railway Board, Hemant Kumar, appreciated the workmanship of the DLS employees in making a model of a diesel locomotive and a commemorative plaque with a worker holding aloft the ‘golden jubilee’ emblem.
He also commended the workers for their efforts in putting the shed back on track within 48 hours of the severe cyclone Hudhud devastating it in October 2014.
Mr. Hemant Kumar said that CRIS had developed software for efficient locomotive management. The pilot project was implemented in Northern Railway and the same could be used by the DLS, Visakhapatnam, as the shed had crossed the optimum level of 100 locos for efficient management of locos as given in the ‘white manual’ of loco sheds.
He was optimistic that India would be able to develop super sheds with the help of the CRIS software. This would, perhaps, help in overcoming the line capacity constraints. Mr. Hemant Kumar announced that the Chairman of Railway Board had approved an award of Rs.1.5 lakh to the DLS, Visakhapatnam, on its achievements in the golden jubilee year. He also announced Rs.50,000 each to the locomotive model and the memorial made by the employees. General Manager of East Coast Railway Rajiv Vishnoi said that the contribution of the DLS, Visakhapatnam, was immense in making E Co R as the number one railway zone in Indian Railways.
Describing E Co R as a ‘freight loading railway’, he said that more HHP (High Horse Power) locos were required and said that Visakhapatnam DLS already had 20 HHP locos and was likely to get 50 more in the near future. Executive Director (Mechanical), Railway Board, Vivek Kumar, recalled his days at DLS, Visakhapatnam, as Senior DME during 1995-97. “I have visited other sheds in the country but the work culture here is par excellence.” DRM Chandralekha Mukherjee and Senior DME (Diesel) M. Srinivas spoke.
Contribution of the DLS, Visakhapatnam, is immense in making ECoR number one railway zone in
Indian Railways.
Rajiv Vishnoi
ECoR GM