Move to privatize train ops is disastrous: Nair

Nagpur: The National Railway Mazdoor Union (NRMU) has termed the railway ministry move to rope in private players to operate mail/express trains as disastrous.
Talking to mediamen on Thursday, Venu Nair, general secretary of NRMU, said roping private players to run trains is one of the agenda items in the 100-day programme chalked out for all divisions in the country. Nair said outsourcing of core jobs will not only spell doom for employees but also passengers. “We will not shy away from stopping the railway operations to oppose anti-employee policies by the Railway Board,” he added.
One of the agenda items finalized during the recent meeting of general managers addressed by railway minister Piyush Goyal is about rolling out Wi-Fi at 6,800 stations in the country. Nair asked, “Was there need for Wi-Fi at stations in remote places where there are few travellers. Instead of taking such projects, the railways should channelize the funds into upgradation of infrastructure.”
The NRMU leader was also critical of railway ministry move to ask people to give up subsidy on railway tickets which will hit poor passengers hard. Instead of taking such petty decisions, Nair suggested vigilance wing of the railways to target engineering departments that are in eye of storm for irregularities.
Nagpur division NRMU leaders Habib Khan, Narendra Dhanfule, Pramod Bokde, Manoj Choithani, Debashish Bhattacharya, Saji Koshi, Emanuel Rao and others were also present.