Will fill two lakh railway vacancies soon: Mamata

KHARAGPUR - Railway Minister Mamata Benerjee Wednesday said her ministry would clear the backlog of over two lakh job vacancies across the country within the next six months.

The railway ministry is trying to clear the backlog of two lakh vacancies countrywide within six months. All the youths who have undergone diploma courses from railway training institutes and retired army men will be absorbed, Banerjee said here in West Midnapore district.

Banerjee was here to lay the foundation stone for a centre for excellence in wagon prototyping, an advanced loco pilot training centre and launch the ‘Alchiki Express’.

The railway minister said the process of recruiting people for the class-III posts had already been initiated.

Speaking on the increasing incidence of railway accidents and development of an anti-collision device, she said: “Ninety-nine percent work of the anti-collision device has been completed and it is almost ready for commissioning.

Stating that the railways had incurred a loss between Rs.500 crore and Rs.1,000 crore in the last two years due to shutdowns and blockades of trains, mainly in the Maoist affected areas of the state, Banerjee said: “How can the railways run high-speed trains if such things take place?”

The Maoist problem exists in many places, including Jungalmahal region that includes forested areas of West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura, Banerjee said.

“We want to run high-speed trains, but such shutdowns and blockades pose serious difficulties in running trains smoothly.”

She also said that the budgetary allocations for providing rail connectivity between Lalgarh and adjoining areas have already been made but the survey work cannot be conducted because of the ongoing trouble in Lalgarh area.

Banerjee added: “The railways have signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, to set up a centre for railway research. The IIT would provide technical know-how and support to the railways to introduce high-speed trains and develop the wagon-prototyping unit.

“Since IIT is a knowledge industry, the railways will tie up with it to launch a technology express, which will interconnect the IITs in the country and exchange technical ideas,” she said.

A train equipped with apparatus and displaying the research works of the IIT students will start from Hijhli station near Kharagpur and will run across the country shortly, added Banerjee.

The railway minister also said that she would introduce a Howrah-Digha Duronta Express train before the Durga puja.