The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : No compromise on safety: Velu

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Monday, Nov 26, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

No compromise on safety: Velu

Special Correspondent

Union Minister of State for Railways says focus is on increasing passenger traffic

— PHOTOs: NAGARA GOPAL

Formal introduction: Union Minister of State for Railways R. Velu greeting senior and retired employees at the Golden Jubilee celebrations of IRISET in Hyderabad on Sunday.

HYDERABAD: Expressing happiness at the achievements of Indian Railways, Union Minister of State for Railways R.Velu has said its focus needed to be on meeting the 11th Plan targets without compromise on safety and speed.

Primary among the targets are transporting 1,100 million tonnes of freight and registering a year-on-year increase in passenger traffic. Currently, the railways carried an average of 1.7 crore passengers a day and the target was ferrying 845 crore passengers in 2010.

Mr. Velu was addressing the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Indian Railways Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications (IRISET) here on Sunday.

He lauded the institute’s role in training about 50,000 people and equipping them with expertise in signalling and telecommunications.

South Central Railway General Manager H.K. Padhee said given the importance of signal and telecommunication in speed and safety, there was a need for constant upgradation of technology. “The task ahead is cut out for us and we need to handle the growing volume of operations.”

Earlier, IRISET Director V. Balaram welcomed the gathering and presented a report. R.K. Mishra, Director, Institute of Public Enterprise, delivered the keynote address on the theme of improving productivity.

Mr. Velu honoured senior officers who had superannuated from IRISET. Among the speakers were S.K. Vij, Member, Engineering and Electrical, Railway Board, Mahabir Parshad (Signals) and A.K. Kapoor (Telecommunications) Additional Members.

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