Board restructuring spooks Railway Officers

Designation of Chairman, Railway Board who is on reemployment as CEO has raised fears that this could be the first step towards corporatisation of Railways which has been proposed by several commissions. While Railways in most countries of the world are run by PSUs or private companies, India has by far the largest transportation system run directly by the Government. While the Finance Ministry has created a large number of Secretary-level posts in IncomeTax service, the number of Railway board member has been cut from 8 to 5. Earlier, inventory control was a peripheral activity; now a member of Indian Railways Stores Service will be the Member looking after movement of railways. The post of Member (Engineering) has been abolished; an officer from Signals will be looking after railway lines and buildings etc. as a Member. These concerns may be addressed in a few years’ time when integration will be complete through the forthcoming Indian Railways Management Service for which consultancy firm McKinsey & Company has been hired to finalise the modalities.