At the backdrop of a series of rail mishaps, the new Railway Board Chairman Ashwani lohani on Thursday said that the safety of passengers will be the topmost priority of the railways. Calling the railway employees “our strength”, lohani said it will favour him and the Indian Railways to accomplish its goals.
“Safety will be our topmost focus, of course. Cleanliness, improvement of stations, ending corruption and VIP culture would be other areas of focus,” lohani said soon after he assumed the charge from outgoing CRB AK Mital. The Centre appointed lohani as the CRB after Mital tendered his resignation following two successive derailments within a span of five days killing over 20 people and injuring more than 200.
Hailed as a turnaround specialist, lohani said he “feels good” that the government has considered him “worthy” of this position. The 58-year-old who was tasked by the Modi government to roll out the divestment plan of Air India in his capacity as CMD of the national carrier for almost two years, said there were a “lot of expectations” from the railways and the national transporter would work hard to improve itself.
He further said it was an “emotional moment” for him to take charge of the Railway Board. Being an officer of the railway mechanical service, the railways’ is the parent organisation for lohani. He has earlier served as the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Delhi.
Underlining that the Railways is a very old organisation and lifeline for India, he said it has several strengths. “We will move forward on those strengths,” he said.
lohani also held a high level meeting with the Railway Board Members and later, addressed the officers of Railway Ministry.
In an interaction with the Railway employees from top to bottom at Rail Bhawan, lohani stressed upon the need to improve work culture and encourage interaction with employees up to grassroots level.