Former divisional railway manager (DRM) of Jhansi S.K. Agarwal took over as the DRM of Ranchi on Monday and promised to accord first priority to safety and security of passengers.
Agarwal, who was transferred following the derailment of the Indore-Rajendranagar-Patna Express that killed more than 140 passengers near Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on November 20, said the mishap was the most unfortunate incident in his 34-year career in the railways.
"It was definitely not an act of god and we must accept that there must have been some mistake on the part of some department, which will come out after an inquiry by the Commission of Railway Safety," the 1982-batch officer of Indian Railway Service of Engineers said.
The new DRM dismissed claims of several passengers that railway attendants had ignored "peculiar noises" before 14 coaches jumped tracks despite being alerted. "There was no such complaint or alert. Had there been any, it would have been in the records," he said.
Agarwal pointed out that passengers often hassled railway staff by demanding diapers, milk or sugar. "Such requests cannot be always entertained. People must understand that we are responsible for safety and security of passengers, and cleanliness of coaches. Medical needs can be attended to, but passengers should refrain from demanding things like milk and diapers, especially through social media like Twitter," he said.
Agarwal added that if passengers tweet genuine grievances, they would be addressed immediately.
The new DRM said that since he got very little time to know about the ongoing railway projects in Ranchi division, he convened back-to-back meetings with senior officials on Monday.
"I am aware of the fact that chief minister Raghubar Das has demanded new LHB coaches for passenger safety instead of ICF rakes. But, I have been told that around 50 per cent coaches in this division are 10-15 years old. Coaches need replacement only after 25 years," he said.
To prevent coaches from going off tracks, Agarwal said they were planning to connect coaches using centre buffer coupler system. Coaches are connected through a special locking mechanism that allows sharp bends at high speed without high risks.
Asked about the rodent menace on board many trains, Agarwal said special emphasis would be laid to tackle the problem.
"I will also seek passenger suggestions on the matter. Cleanliness and amenities are definitely priorities, but more important is security on tracks and efficiency of coaches and signalling systems for which I will start surprise inspections soon," he said.
Before Agarwal, Anshul Gupta, DRM of Adra, held additional charge of Ranchi division.