A group of probationers of Indian Railway Traffic Service, Indian Railways Accounts Service, Indian Railways Personnel Service, Indian Railways Stores Service, Indian Railways Service of Engineers and Railway Protection Force called on the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee today (May 6, 2015) at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Speaking on the occasion, the President congratulated all probationers for having cleared what is universally recognised as one of the toughest competitive examinations in the world. He stated that the canvas, scope and breadth of exposure and responsibility that a career in Government offers, and that too at a relatively young age, is an experience and opportunity unlike any other.
The President told the probationers that they have joined one of the oldest Railway systems in the world, one which is a 162 years old. Indian Railways is one of the most important infrastructure systems anywhere in the world in terms of size, range of operations, and its reach and impact. It is the virtual lifeline of the nation with nearly 66,000 route kilometers. It runs more than 19,000 trains daily and carries 25 million passengers every day which is almost equivalent to Australia’s population. The Indian Railways has also now joined the select club of 1 billion tonnes plus freight loading Railways, globally being only the fourth to do so. It serves as one of the great unifiers of our country given its unparalleled reach and operational depth. He told that Railway finances were separated from general finances in 1924 and the practice of presenting a separate railway budget has been in vogue since then. The gross traffic receipts of the railways have also grown exponentially from Rs. 183 crores in 1947 to Rs. 1.59 lakh crores in 2014-15. The progress of the Indian Railways is unthinkable without the active involvement of each one of its vast number of employees.
The President said that probationers have to look after range of services from traffic operations to financial management, to manage human resource development and large number of employees, track renewal, safety, security and also improving quality of services in Railways. Opportunities which they have received in an important sector of Railways, which is lifeline of our economical life, is crucial. They should serve nation their best they can give from themselves. He called upon them to uphold the high standard and dignity which has been maintained over the years.