Two officials take a train for themselves

NEW DELHI, APRIL 7: In a typical example of how Railways is treated as a personal fiefdom, two senior officials ordered a special train fo...

NEW DELHI, APRIL 7: In a typical example of how Railways is treated as a personal fiefdom, two senior officials ordered a special train for themselves to return to Delhi from Allahabad. The whimsical officials cost the Railways nearly Rs 1 lakh for the seven-hour journey — at a time when Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is trying to enforce strict austerity measures.

This misuse of authority happened on Sunday, April 2, when Additional General Manager (AGM), Northern Railway, V P Chandan and Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Allahabad, Sukhbir Singh had to return to Delhi.

Not wanting to take the nearly half-a-dozen regular trains which come from Allahabad to Delhi, the two officials ordered for their carriages to be attached to a light engine, thus creating a two-coach train for themselves. In normal circumstances, the official carriages are attached to regular trains.

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According to sources, Chandan had gone to Allahabad for a meeting and Sukhbir Singh reportedly had “some work” in Delhi. So both of them decided to return together and got their respective carriages attached to the light engine. They left Allahabad at 10 pm on Sunday night to reach Delhi early next morning. Apart from the morning and afternoon trains, there are at least three trains from Allahabad in the evening — the Howrah Rajdhani, Lal Qila and Magadh Express.

Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Chandralekha Mukherjee, when contacted, said that the engine was overdue for inspection and repair, and not fit to carry a full train, comprising 20 coaches. “The engine had an A-9 Valve defect and had to be brought to the Ghaziabad loco shed. So, since the engine was anyway supposed to come this side, the officers decided to attach their carriages with it,” she said.

However, as sources pointed out, even if an engine has to be brought for inspection or repair, it is always attached to a regular train and not the other way round.