New Delhi: Conforming to its priority of making the Indian Railways safe and secure for ferrying of passengers and goods, the giant carriers of the nation would be observing a month-long ‘Mega Safety Drive’ from October 28.

The drive is aimed at removing any gaps in maintenance of fixed assets, locomotives and rolling stock. A release from the Indian Railways said that during the mega safety drive, officers from zonal headquarters and divisional offices would conduct thorough inspections.

It added that safety continues to be the foremost priority of Indian Railways and is accorded a top priority. Ministry of Railways has directed Zonal Railways to ensure that extant procedures are conformed during the month-long safety drive and monitoring of human factors done in a rigorous manner.

The Railway Board has directed all Zonal Railways to ensure that officers in headquarters and divisions carry out thorough inspection and ensure correction of deficiencies found during inspections during the drive.

At least one headquarters officer must be on inspection on each day during the drive in each division, it said. Also, each major section of each division must be under ‘Night Foot Plate Inspection’ by an officer. All sections of divisions are to be inspected by DRMs and ADRMs. General health of fixed assets would also be examined.

Directives for this ‘Mega Safety Drive’ includes regular patrolling of all tracks, surprise checks at stations to ensure proper operational practices are being followed. Also, the gate, station and other operating staff would be encouraged to be vigilant. /BI/