In an exclusive interview with The Quint, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu tells us how much improvement he has made in the railway recruitment system. He said that the railway conducted the biggest online exam in the country to make the recruitment process transparent. He also added that the railways will create a transformation cell. This will help in solving various problems.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu began his tenure in 2014 with ambitions of modernisation and expansion. As Prabhu is about to finish three years as minister, The Quint’s Sanjay Pugalia caught up with him to talk about the assessment of his work.
In an exclusive interview to The Quint, railway minister Suresh Prabhu presented the report card of last 2.5 years of work done by his ministry. The minister said that the financial condition of the railways has improved and he has also succeeded in increasing the non-fare revenue. The railway minister further added that the digitisation of Indian railway has helped them save around Rs 50-60 thousand crore. He also said that the ministry is focussing on increasing the speed to 200 kmph.
From 1 April, waitlisted passengers will have the opportunity of travelling in premier trains like Rajdhani or Shatabdi even if their booked tickets in some other train for the same destination has not been confirmed. In a bid to improve number of confirmed berths in trains, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu announced the launch of an alternate train accommodation scheme –Vikalp –which will come into effect starting 1 April. As of now, the scheme will be available in online bookings and later extended to counters.
