Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday conferred the 70th Ati Vishisht Rail Seva Puraskar on 100 railway officials and presented 26 Shields to best-performing Railway Zones at a ceromony held at Yashobhoomi, Dwarka, New Delhi.
The event was attended by Minister of State for Railways V. Somanna, Railway Board Chairman & CEO Satish Kumar, Board Members, and senior railway officials.
Addressing the gathering, Ashwini Vaishnaw said Indian Railways must scale to a new level to realise the vision of Viksit Bharat, Viksit Railways by 2047. He credited railway employees for overcoming long-standing challenges, expanding capacity, and achieving major infrastructure and operational milestones. He highlighted large-scale track construction and the successful operation of special trains during peak seasons such as Diwali–Chhath, Christmas, and summer, which set new benchmarks in passenger management.
The Minister announced an ambitious “52 Weeks, 52 Reforms” roadmap for 2026, under which one major reform will be implemented every week across areas such as customer service, maintenance, production, quality, health systems, and operations.
He outlined six priorities, including systemic reforms, adoption of technology and AI, upgraded maintenance standards, an uncompromising focus on safety, continuous skill development, and eliminating the colonial mindset.
Railway Minister also called for greater engagement with startups and innovators and urged officials to scale successful innovations across the railway network. A commemorative coin marking 100 years of railway electrification was also released on the occasion.
Speaking at the event, V. Somanna praised railway employees for ensuring safe and comfortable travel and highlighted expanded connectivity to regions such as Jammu & Kashmir and the North East. He referred to initiatives such as Amrit Bharat, Namo Bharat, and the upcoming Vande Bharat Sleeper trains, and noted progress towards greener, electrified rail operations.
Railway Board Chairman Satish Kumar said Indian Railways has emerged as a modern, passenger-centric organisation with safety as its top priority. He highlighted improvements in signalling, elimination of unmanned level crossings, advanced track monitoring, and growing multimodal freight operations contributing to economic growth.
The Ati Vishisht Rail Seva Puraskar, conferred annually, recognises exceptional service by railway personnel and outstanding performance by Railway Zones.
Source – sarkaritel.com
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