Safety, punctuality, passengers' convenience and staff welfare is the new to-do list for the newly joined Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Western Railway's Mumbai central division. Niraj Verma has taken over as the new DRM of Western Railway’s Mumbai Central Division on 10th October 2022. He is a senior officer of the 1994 Batch of Indian Railway Traffic Services (IRTS) and is known for quick decision-making in the railway fraternity.
Speaking with FPJ on Sunday, Gupta said, Western Railways Mumbai Central division has a very vast network including a suburban section. I am trying to understand the whole network or the division deeply, he added.
Asked about the top four priorities, he said "safety, punctuality, passengers' convenience and staff welfare will be my top priority".
Currently, WR's Mumbai Central division operates 1,383 services daily (weekdays) in its suburban section including 79 air-conditioned local services. The local passengers of WR are also demanding the introduction of more air-conditioned services.
"Air-conditioned local services on WR have become quite popular now and on average 74,000 passengers use them daily, besides that introduction of new AC services becomes a big chalenge for the administration because non AC local trains are running jam packed. Hence the replacement of non-AC local train by AC local trains needs allots of homework, " said Suresh Shinde (42) of Virar who frequently travel between Virar and Churchgate.
Verma holds an MBA degree with foreign training in Malaysia, Singapore and Germany. He has worked extensively on important posts in Railway Board, Northern Railway and North Western Railway. Prior to his new appointment as Divisional Railway Manager, Verma was working dedicated freight corridor as group general manager
