During the lockdown and before ‘unlock’, Indian Railways has been running round-the-clock freight operations carrying 11.89 million tonnes of foodgrains, salt, sugar, milk, edible oil, onions, fruits, vegetables, petroleum products, fertilizers and essential commodities, to every nook and corner of the country between April 1 and June 5.
Chairman of the Railway Board Vinod Kumar Yadav pointed out that the extent of operations can be gauged by the fact that just 6.27 million tonnes of such commodities were transported during the same period last year.
“We have kept the supply chains functional through 17 lakh wagons by moving these goods from one corner to another in double quick time as freight trains were run at express speed of more than 55 kmph,” the chairman said on Wednesday.
Goods sheds, stations and control offices worked 24/7 ensuring that the goods are moved on time, loco-pilots and guards are alert on their job and key maintenance staff of track, signalling, electric equipment, locomotives and coaches, are in fine fettle to ensure the nation is not found short of any essential commodity, he said.
A control room set up at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) helped in exchange of real time information with railway officials in case of any obstacles in the movement of the freight. Special parcel trains — 3,729 of them, were also introduced on select 96 routes with precise timings for carrying small medicines, medical equipment, and food, which were crucial during lockdown. “Our freight movement was planned to connect major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and the North East. Through this we were able to supply milk and dairy products from surplus Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh to high demand places,” Mr. Yadav said.
While face covers and hand sanitizers were being made available to staff, including contract labourers, what he was proud of is railway workshops, coaching depots and hospitals locally producing sanitizers and face covers to supplement supplies. Up to 1.3 lakh PPE kits were produced by Jagadhari workshop of Northern Railway approved by the DRDO.
The chairman also said that the outsourced employees in housekeeping and other service contracts were paid during lockdown period besides making arrangements for stay and food for the needy.
