Waltair Division of East Coast Railway on Tuesday celebrated 60{+t}{+h}Railway Week, organised in April to mark the chugging off of the first train in India from Bori Bunder (Mumbai) to Thane on April 16, 1853.
Addressing the gathering, Divisional Railway Manager Chandralekha Mukherjee said that Waltair Division had achieved the highest-ever total earnings of Rs.6,653.31 crore during 2014-15 despite cyclone Hudhud causing devastation during October 2014. The Division had achieved originating loading of 54.86 million tonnes, generating a revenue of Rs.6159.73 crore, which was 5.4 per cent more than the earnings in the last financial year (Rs.5844.35 crores).
On the passenger front, the originating passenger traffic in 2014-15 was 33.72 million, earning the Division Rs.433.15 crore, which was 18.18 per cent higher than the earnings of Rs.366.51crore during 2013-14. She complimented the employees and officers for their remarkable performance during cyclone Hudhud, which had resulted in the quick restoration of train services. Ms. Mukherjee said that development works of about Rs.695 crore were announced for Waltair Division by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in the Railway Budget2015-16.
These include: Wagon POH workshop at Vadlapudi in the city, augmentation of facilities at the Diesel Loco Shed, Electric Loco Shed and Raw Material Unloading yard at Steel Plant siding and track renewal works over the entire Division, which meant that a lot of work remained to be undertaken during this year to meet the aspirations of the people. She also informed that emphasis was being given to passenger amenities to provide quality service to passengers with continuous improvement and monitoring at the same time safety of train operations was accorded top priority. Waltair Division bagged eight Efficiency Shields for outstanding performance in the fields of Accounts, Electrical Engineering, Medical, Raj Bhasha, Safety, Security, Best Major clean station (Vizianagaram), Best Small clean station (Tilaru) and also bagged the efficiency shield in Mechanical along with Khurda Road Division. Additional DRM Madanlal Meena graced the function. Officers of all branches, representatives of the recognised unions, railway staff and their family members were present at the function. On this occasion cash awards and merit certificates were presented to the employees.
