Suresh Prabhu writes an open letter; here's what he said

New Delhi: Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu takes oath as Rajya Sabha Member in presence of Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari during a ceremony at Parliament House in New Delhi on Tuesday.PTI Photo by Atul Yadav

Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu has written an open letter outlining the achievements of his ministry over the past two years.

Here's full text of his letter:

Dear Friends,

TRENDING NOW

It is our Honourable Prime Minister's firm belief that Indian Railway has the potential to become the backbone of India's progress and economic development. This is the vision we all are working for at Indian Railways with you as our partner.

18 months ago, when I took over the reigns of this great organization called Indian Railways, I was faced with many challenges. I had the option of making small incremental changes or go beyond business as usual. I chose the latter

Bringing in systemic changes was the need of the hour. It was important to change the perception of Indian Railways from a slow moving behemoth to a responsive modern organization. It is satisfying for me to note that we have made some progress. A lot is still to be done.

Our Prime Minister has asserted many times that our Government's priority is the commonest of common man of the country and it is with this in mind, we worked on improving the travel
experience for our people. We launched a host of initiatives aimed at this.

An E-book on two year achievements of Indian Railways can be seen here:

Some of the important achievements are:

Commissioned record 2828 kms of broad gauge lines which is 85% higher than 2009-14 average annual commissioning. 7.7 kms lines commissioned per day against 2009-14 average of 4.3 kms

Capital expenditure in 2015-16 was about Rs. 94,000 Cr which is almost double the average annual capital expenditure over the previous five-year period of 2009-14

Electrification of 1730 kms done in the last year is a huge jump over 2009-14 annual average of 1184 kms

A responsive 24x7 complaint resolution mechanism employed through the use of social media

Cleanliness: Swachh Rail, Swachh Bharat campaign, Clean my Coach Service launched, third party cleanliness audits conducted for stations

E-catering, E-wheelchair, E-bedroll facilities launched to ensure seamless availability and access to these facilities

Ticketing: IRCTC capacity increased, Automatic ticket vending machines installed, cancellation of PRS tickets through cell phone launched, Vikalp scheme launched

Speed: India's first semi high speed train Gatimaan Express launched, trial run of Talgo coaches underway

N-E Connectivity: Barak Valley of Assam, Agartala, Mizoram and Manipur connected to broad gauge

High speed Wi-Fi launched at various stations with a target of 400 stations by 2018

Environment: A provision of 1% of total project cost made in all future projects to spend on environment protection measures, major thrust on solar and wind energy provided, traditional lights replaced by environment friendly LED lights

100% E-tendering implemented resulting in transparent and accountable procurement process

While I continue my journey on this noble mission of `Transforming India' through `Transforming Railways,`I seek your increased participation and support. Together we can make
the Indian Railways better.

Yours Sincerely,

Suresh Prabhu

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