The Hindu Business Line : Ministry to find ways to revamp Eastern Railway revenue flow

THE Union Minister of State for Railways, Mr R.Velu, today admitted that the reorganisation of railway zones might have affected the revenue flow of Eastern Railway (ER).

The Minister, who was in the city today, told Business Line that the reorganisation, carried out by the previous NDA Government , however, did not have any debilitating effect on the revenues of South Eastern Railway, which was considered as the flagship of Indian Railways prior to the trifurcation. "It remains profitable," he observed.

The Ministry was already looking into ways of revamping the revenue flow of Eastern Railway, Mr Velu added. The operating ratio for ER has dropped after the reorganisation, which saw profitable operations taken out of its ambit.

Mr Velu, however, said the present Government would not like to destabilise the existing arrangement of zones by way of re-mergers, but instead would strive to improve operating ratios through guided policy measures.

He, however, expressed satisfaction over the recent performance of ER during a review meeting with the General Manager, Mr Shyam Kumar and other principal heads of the different departments. According to Mr Kumar, there was an increase of 15.4 per cent in freight loading by ER during April-September over the corresponding period of last year.

The Minister informed that work on the Metro Railway extension work beyond Tollygunje, up to Garia, was now progressing well.

Earlier, the Minister visited South Eastern Railway headquarters to review the progress of on-going projects in Bengal. He also reviewed the performance of SER, and other developmental activities of the system including safety aspects.

Stressing further improvement in both the freight and passenger traffic, the Minister pointed that the Railways was a commercial organisation, and hence, due care ought to be given to its customers in both freight and passenger segments.