CHANGING TRACKS
On September 3, the Union government put into effect a historic decision taken last December towards the much-awaited corporatisation of Indian Railways. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet formally reconstituted the Railway Board, the 165-year-old organisation’s apex decision-making body, appointing chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav as the board’s first CEO. The 114-year-old, eight-member board, which governs the public transporter, was replaced by a new one that has four members, with clearly defined roles of handling infrastructure, rolling stock, finance and operations. They are led by CEO Yadav, who will be responsible for human resources. Unlike the chairman, who was a first among equals, the board’s CEO has powers to overrule members and take decisions should consensus elude any matter.
The board’s new corporate structure is a critical part of reforms undertaken by the Piyush Goyalled railways ministry to make the Indian Railways a modern, efficient and profitable public mover. The restructuring is on the lines of railways’ peers in Europe and the US. Goyal’s other bold move of transforming the railways by infusing private capital is also being keenly watched. On July 1, his ministry invited requests for qualifications (RFQs) from investors to not just design, build, finance and operate private passenger trains but also to own them. Since the nationalisation of railways in
