Date:11/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/11/stories/2008041159680900.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

All-round improvement in Southern Railway’s performance

Special Correspondent

The zone earns Rs. 401 crore more than the previous year

— Photo: V. Ganesan

IN RECOGNITION: Southern Railway General Manager Rakesh Chopra presenting General Manager’s Inter-Divisional Overall Efficiency Shield to Winner of Madras Division to Man Singh, DRM, Chennai division (left), at the 53rd Railway Week Celebrations in Chennai on Thursday.

CHENNAI: There was an all-round improvement in the performance of Southern Railway in the last financial year, with the zone earning Rs. 401 crore more than the previous year, an increase of 12 per cent.

The passenger traffic grew by 22 per cent and the freight traffic by 14 per cent over the previous year. It registered a phenomenal growth of 45 lakh passengers a month and operated 2,000 special trains to meet the increasing passenger traffic, General Manager Rakesh Chopra said on Thursday.Presiding over the 53rd Railway Week celebrations here, he said that to sustain the achievements, it was necessary to expand the infrastructure. Keeping this in mind, Southern Railway planned a capital investment of Rs. 1,500 crore during this fiscal. The ongoing gauge conversion, doubling and new lines, he said, would help it handle more traffic.

Stressing the need for improving productivity and profitability, Mr. Chopra said that with an operating ratio of 106 per cent, Southern Railway remained a non-profitable zone. The ratio might increase to 120 per cent if the Pay Commission’s recommendations were implemented. So it was imperative to take hard decisions such as curbing superfluous expenditure and judicious utilisation of resources.

The General Manager distributed 116 individual awards to meritorious employees, group awards to eight departments and 31 efficiency shields to divisions. The Chennai Division won the General Manager’s Inter-Divisional Overall Efficiency Awards.