My dear members of East Coast Railway family,
I extend my warm greetings to each one of you on the auspicious occasion of 76th Independence Day.
The journey of 75 years after independence is a reflection of grit, hard work, determination, resilience and perseverance of our countrymen. In the path of National development, the railways have immensely contributed in every aspect and in a true sense it is the “Life line of the Nation”.
‘Har GharTiranga’ has been celebrated from 13th -15th August, 2022 in ECoR, 47383 National Flags were distributed and employees have been encouraged to bring the Tiranga home and to hoist it to mark the 75th year of India’s independence.Stickers of AKAM Logos have also been pasted with 371 no. of locomotives and 3004 no. of coaches. Exhibitions were organised at 35 nominated stations over ECoR for observance of partition horror remembrance day. Exhibitions on the lives of National heroes have been displayed and events such as bike rallies were organized.
This year the International Yoga Day was observed at Konark with a befitting and grand manner which was graced by the presence of Hon’ble Minister of Railways. ECoR was privileged to have successfully organized the 67th National Railways Award- 2022 at Bhubaneswar.
Indian Railways has set a Mission to achieve 3000 MT by 2027 in which ECoR has been assigned a major role with a target of about 500 MT. To achieve the same, many infrastructure projects have been sanctioned which will enhance the Rail network and mobility in the territory by enabling port connectivity to hinterlands and industrial hubs. To further the execution speed of important infrastructure projects, empowered Gati Shakti units have been established in all divisions.
New line and doubling projects have gained momentum as a result of which Mahipur- Nuagaon( 13.05 kms) new line has been completed in recent past and 128 kms of doubling lines have been commissioned in the FY2022-23 so far. With a vision to further expand the rail network, 25 Surveyshave been sanctioned during the recent times. In the FY 2022-23, highest ever Budget grant (CAPEX) of Rs 9343 Cr is sanctioned to ECoR.
Safety has always been our topmost priority and a number of notable activities have been carried out to ensure safe operations. Intensive preventive checks have been conducted, counselling of staff involved in operations is regularly done, and trainings are imparted for upgrading of skills & reflexes of staff.
In the last year, ECoR retained the position of highest freight loading zone for the 4th successive year with an unprecedented all time high loading of 232.12MT. ECoR has loaded freight of 77.25 MT upto July’ 22 and it is higher than the corresponding period of the previous year. Our Lead performance, NTKM, average speed of freight trains and other operational performances are better than last year.
In coaching front many improvements have been made to provide our passengers safe and more comfortable services.A new daily passenger train Puri-Nuagaon-Puri has been introduced. 12871/72 HWH-TIG-HWH Ispat Express has been extended uptoKantabanji. 18443/44 CTC-PSA-CTC express has been extended uptoGunupur. 145 no. of Special trains (in trips) have run upto July’22 for clearing extra rush. During Rath Yatra, 230 nos. of Special Trains were run. 1921 no of coaches were temporarily augmented by 149 nos of M/E trains. 11 rakes in 8 pairs of M/E trains have been upgraded to LHB. As the restrictions related to Covid are eased, ECoR has resumed 98.8% of M/E trains till date.
Revenue earned upto July’ 22 this F.Y. is 7137.74 Cr which is 13.55% more than the last year for the corresponding period. Operating Ratio upto July’ 22 is60.69 against previous year’s performance of 64.04.
As many as 10 RUBs and 04 FOBs over ECoR have been constructed during the period. High level Platforms in 13 no. of stations have been provided. Sliding booms at 36 L.C gates have been provided. 14 sets of HASSDAC have been commissioned which will ensure safe and reliable block working.
New station buildings at Khurda Road, Patia PH and Vani Vihar PH have been inaugurated. Stations with Airport standard facilities have been envisaged for Puri, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam and Cuttack. Station redevelopment works in 7 other stations have also been planned. Soft
upgradation of stations as per Khurda Road model has been identified in 24 stations.
As a part of ‘Vocal for Local’ campaign, an initiative of ‘One Station one Product’ was launched under which stalls have been opened at 18 no of stations over East Coast Railway. ECoR has introduced 100% e-TRR & barcode system in Parcel Management System.
We are committed to our responsibility towards environment and sustainability. In this endeavour, about 1.87 lakh saplings have been planted till July-2022. 26KWp additional solar panels have been installed which enhanced the total capacity of solar plants in ECoR to 4.72 MWp. As a result of which, 11.2 Million units of green energy is generated saving Rs 3.8 Crore.
ECoR has occupied the first position by issuing POs within an average period of 2 days. ECoR has finalised TC cases & DA cases at all stores units within 41 days & 06 days as against the target of 45 days & 15 days respectively.
Intensive checks, raids, patrolling and a hawk’s eye have been undertaken by our security department to prevent criminal activities.RPF has registered 75 cases as against 39 cases during the same period of last year and recovered Rs. 17.15 lakh as against Rs.6.11 lakh during the same period. Security department has arrested 59 touts involved in unauthorised booking & Reservation with the help of Cyber Cell by seizing 2093 tickets worth Rs.29.61 lakh and deactivated 350 fake Ids. Cyber cell has achieved commendable success in prevention of touting and other crimes through electronic modes. During this period RPF has registered 78 cases with recovery of nearly 1535 Kgs of narcotics, valued to the tune of Rs.115 Lakh.
ECoR has been empanelling more number of Corporate hospitals to provide medical care to employees and their family members. Bhubaneswar Railway Station and Vishakhapatnam Railway Station was certified as “Eat Right Station” as per guidelines established by Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI).
The recognized unions and associations have made notable contributions to not only staff welfare but also to the community surrounding us.They have organized blood donation camps, catered hygienic food to patients during Covid pandemic and given their support to keep morale of staff and their families high.
ECoR Women’s Welfare Organisation carried out many social welfare activities in key areas of women empowerment. We are indebted to their valuable contributions.
Our sports persons brought laurels for Railways. Shri Amit Rohidas, Sports officer/ECoR and Ms Deep Grace Ekka, OSD/Sports/ECoR have represented India in Men & Women hockey teams, respectively in the recently concluded Commonwealth Game at Birmingham, U.K. Both teams won medals for the country. ECoR’s Kabaddi women’s team became Champion in the recently concluded state championship. Shri L.B.Dash, ECoR Volleyball player has been appointed as the Coach of Indian Women’s U-18 Volleyball Team.
Our achievement so far is our contribution towards fulfilling the aspirations and ambitions of the nation. We need to make effort to continuously excel through systemic improvements and innovations in our work sphere to beat all odds and succeed. on this solemn occasion, let us renew our commitment and dedication to strive to surpass our targets and scale new heights of success in the current Financial Year.
I once again convey my best wishes to you all.
Jai Hind
SHARAD KUMAR SRIVASTAVA,
GM(I/C)
