Rail accidents: Goyal suggests out-of-turn promotions for staff averting mishaps

Following a series of recent train accidents in the country, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday suggested out-of-turn promotions for those staff who take timely action to avert mishaps.

Speaking at a review meeting with senior officials of the South Western Railway, he asserted that such schemes will boost the morale of the staff.

Terming the recent train accidents as "unfortunate", Goyal called upon the railway staff to work diligently for ensuring complete safety in running trains, a release by the South Western Railway said.

"The minister suggested various schemes such as granting out-of-turn promotion for the staff who take timely action to avert accidents. He said such schemes will go a long way in boosting the morale of the staff," it said.

The BJP leader emphasised that safety shall be given top most priority and track renewal works be taken up expeditiously.

He also asked the Railways to develop an action plan for eliminating unmanned level crossing gates in a year's time, instead of 2019-20 as planned earlier.

Recently, the minister chaired a high-level safety meet to zero in on issues causing frequent derailments. Unmanned level crossings and defects in tracks were found to be the major causes of the accidents.

PTI