New Delhi: Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw It was announced on Wednesday that the railway company is investigating incidents of train derailments caused by rocks and rods on the tracks.
“There are worrying trends in some incidents, which should be taken seriously,” Vaishnaw told reporters.
He also said the national carrier should not be subjected to political blame game as it is the lifeline of the nation.
Vaishnaw said that railways were the lifeline of the country and if anything negative happened, all efforts should be made to ensure that trains ran very efficiently.
He also said that the railways have added 5,300 km of rail lines to the existing network during the last one year.
“Ten years ago, the average rate of railway construction was four kilometres per day. Today, it is 14.5 kilometres per day,” Vaishnaw said, adding that all approved railway projects will be completed in the next five years.
Regarding recruitment in railways, the minister said the government has prepared a recruitment schedule to fill the vacant posts in the national transporter.
“Four quarters were linked to a particular category of employment. The first quarter – January to March – was for the recruitment of locomotive pilots, the second quarter for the hiring of technicians and junior engineers, the third quarter was for the recruitment of non-technical staff and the fourth quarter for grade-1 officers,” he said.
Vaishnaw said that the annual employment plan has been prepared and 45,000 vacancies have been announced for the current recruitment cycle.
Published August 28, 2024, 2:19 p.m. IST
