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 On behalf of the 32 000 STATION MANAGERS / STATION MASTERS fraternity, I applaud you Sir. For the first time in the History of INDIAN RAILWAYS, a STANDING HIGH POWER COMMITTEE was formed and  you are going  to head this  committee as Chairman. We wish you all the SUCCESS - Secretary General.

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Mr. Shri Prakash Member Traffic, Railway Board and Ex-Officio Secretary to Govt. of India

                        It has been a rather long journey over the last 37 years. Now it is the time for me to say goodbye to you. Latching off not without a sense of satisfaction, and of course, nostalgia, I would like to take leave with only one word HOPE. This small word may guide and motivate you to a rewarding and satisfying career.

                       When I was a young officer, always in awe of seniors, I was told one day that there was no difference between a junior and senior officer, except the fact that they were born at different times. Although that belief is valid even today, my experience has taught me that a junior officer is better than the senior as he is more equipped, better trained and willing to bring change.

                       When I joined Indian Railways, Indian economy was in a bad shape on account of three wars in ten years and the oil crisis. The country was grappling with large scale unemployment, slowdown in industrialisation and widespread unrest among students and youth. One could read the changes that were in the offing, increased use of computers and development of industry through public sector where profit was a bad word, growth of agriculture through development of the cooperative sector etc. What we could not guess, however, was the magnitude and the pace of changes that have taken place, afterwards.

                       Over the years operating methods have changed. While the Marshalling Yards were pivot of operation in the seventies and early eighties, their relevance was lost completely after block rake movements were encouraged in all the commodities. After I put in about 20 years of service, I was told dryly one day by a senior that I should discount all my operating experience as it was of no use after 1985.The changes have been so vast and swift that we could hardly perceive them before. We were able to see reasonably and practically for about 5 years but beyond this future was hazy.

                       At this point of time when I quit active Railway service, I can see that India will become the major hub of industrial activities in the global arena. Due to cost consciousness and environmental concerns, industries are bound to migrate to developing countries like India where huge skilled and semi-skilled manpower exist. Heavy industries like steel, cement, automobile, chemicals and petrochemicals, oil, fertiliser, heavy engineering, construction, output of which is linked to our domestic and global consumption are bound to increase rapidly. Shortage of engineers and skilled labour is already felt in many sectors due to increased industrial activity.

                       With rapid industrial growth, increased demand for power and transport infrastructure would grow manifold. There would be pressure on both road and rail for increasing capacity to carry additional traffic. Increased economic activity also increases mobility of people. The Indian railways should have a high growth strategy creating a virtuous cycle of growth in both passenger and freight traffic.

                       The change which I have seen as swift and fast will be much faster and speedier. Management techniques are getting obsolete in now every two three years. In order to increase its market share, IR will have to enter into new market niche. Another objective of reducing cost of operation will have to be pursued by changing its processes and methods.

                       You will be part of the glorious future of the Indian railways. In your entire pursuit of professional excellence, you cannot allow to distort the value system and ethics. You are a leader. You have to provide leadership with compassion and also nurture talent. Babur got down off his horse to help his soldiers push the canon that was stuck in the snows of the Khyber Pass. Napoleon stood guard throughout the night without disturbing the sleep of his sentinel. You have to strike a delicate balance between discipline and compassion. The humane values are always perennial and they provide an absolutely firm anchor.

                       You will have a greater responsibility to shoulder and likewise a greater satisfaction that you were a witness to the economic development of India. You will have to keep hope and tenacity always by your side.

                       The other day, Sudhendu Sinha mentioned to me about a chapter describing a train journey in NCERT textbook of ‘Environmental Studies’ for Class IV. In this Chapter “Omana’s Journey”, a small girl writes about her experience of train journey in her diary – “I went to brush my teeth, but there was no water in the bathroom…” To make it worse one of the questions as a part of exercise at the end of the chapter was, “Why do you think there was no water in the bathroom of the train? Discuss.” It hurts all of us that today, Indian railways is not able to make water available for a child in a running train. Increasing responsibility also results in greater accountability. We have to rise to the expectations of all our stakeholders to ensure that the “bathroom of Omana’s coach” does not run dry.

With best wishes 

SHRI PRAKASH

 (Member Traffic- Mr. SHRI PRAKASH, DOB 28/12/1949,  Appointed on 18/11/72, in Batch No: 171, retires on 31/12/2009)

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