Piyush Goyal Conducts Surprise Checks On-Board Kota Janshatabdi Express

Known for his unique ways to handle difficult situations, Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday travelled in the Kota Janshatabdi Express and interacted with passengers for improvement of rail services.

Some may call it a political gimmick but experts see this as an excellent confidence-building measure with the public. While this is a common practice worldwide but how many ministers in India have actually taken such an initiative before.

Goyal boarded the train from New Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin station and inspected the second-class coach of the Kota Janshatabdi train. He also Interacted with the commuters at the station and took note of the passenger amenities and other facilities, the Northern Railways wrote on Twitter.

“Goyal took over as the Railways Minister barely few months back. Such a strategy will only ensure better functioning of the system,” said a senior official.

“If the head of an organisation is a restless minister like Goyal, these small steps will only improve rail services.”

As another confidence-building measure, Goyal sent personal mails to all railway employees wishing them on the occasion of Diwali.

“I am new to the Railways family but truly believe that working together with each other and with the people of India through janbhagidari, we can bring a transformational change in how people travel and experience India. Indian Railways is the lifeline of the Indian people and I would like to thank each and everyone of you for your contribution to nation building,” he wrote.

Known for his innovative ways to raise resources in the power and renewable ministries, Goyal was recently given charge of the Railways Ministry that is in dire need of funds to modernise its age-old systems with latest technologies.

The minister has already given unlimited powers to general managers for 18 months for safety-related issues, a decision that many say was a much needed step towards faster decision-making and will prove helpful in averting sudden disasters.

Measures such as “innovative timetabling” under which running time of trains would reduce by 15 minutes to two hours are some other novel ways that Goyal has put in place.

Motivation is much needed in the system and amongst and railway employees to work in a mission mode to meet the targets and achieve results.

The Indian Railways has also started the exercise of an internal audit through which 50 mail and express trains will be upgraded to super-fast services. This is part of an overhaul of the rail system of increasing the average speed of existing trains.