Operation Moduro by Railway Board won’t Contain the Crisis

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If DRMs are not afforded basic courtesy while in office, how can divisional officers respect their head?

Why was no one waiting for the completion of the enquiry? Who was fearing what?

Delhi stampede accident report is yet to come out and the upright and hardworking DRM was sacrificed while real culprits continue to be in New Delhi and Zonal HQs

The crisis being such that it should make the Prime Minister and Railway Minister sit up and take note

The #RailwayBoard has sacked two NF-HAG officers who were serving as Divisional Railway Managers (#DRMs) and has replaced them with two officers who were parachuted into their roles. Perhaps this operation by so-called emotionally intelligent officers of Indian Railways, inspired President Trump’s actions in #Venezuela.

On 2 January, 2026, Divisional Railway Managers in Moradabad and Asansol were summarily sacked, a move unprecedented in living memory.

Readers may see once again our article published on 4 January, 2025: “Minister Sir, You Just Dealt Deathblow by Selectively Punishing Honest & Hard Working Officers”.

As we received numerous feedbacks, we decided to speak to several distinguished officers who have served as DRM and General Managers. Some even rose to become Board members and are still in disbelief. Here are some of their reactions, with editorial changes made using AI:

It’s difficult to hold a DRM not even five months in to their roles—responsible for longstanding issues with the track and its structure.

What action was taken on SrDOM, SrDSTE of Moradabad division? What action was taken on subdivisional Junior and Senior Scale officers of S&T and Operating?

What action was taken on Sectional Engineering officers, Engineering Branch Officers, Permanent Way Inspectors, Chief Track Engineer, Principal Chief Engineer for failure in Asansol Division?

The resetting of Neil’s Ball Token instruments requires the key of S&T and Operating. There is a well-established protocol for ensuring this process is executed correctly. Given the limited number of such systems in Indian Railways, it is concerning that these protocols were not followed. Experts have drawn attention to the accident at the #Waltair division where there were abnormally high levels of rest in the Electronic Interlocking leading to an accident.

This issue was also raised in a meeting attended by the Chairman. So what was done for this? What action was taken by Northern Railway’s Chief Signalling Engineer, Principal Chief Signal and Telecom Engineer, Principal Chief Operating Manager, Principal Chief Safety Officer after Waltair accident? Lapses like noticed in #Khurja are almost century old some say. They are as old as Neil’s Ball token system.

Several senior officers have highlighted the duplicity and inconsistent approach of senior management at the Railway Board.

  • They have pointed to the fact that even the #CBI trapped DRMs, citing cases in Guntakal and Waltair have been given choice placements.
  • Officers of the #Vadodara Division who oversaw industrial-scale #Corruption and those who directly engaged in it are now comfortably placed in Rail Bhawan, New Delhi and the Zonal Head Quarters in Churchgate, Mumbai. In the case of Moradabad and Asansol, officers question what the serving DRMs from other divisions do? They argue that it takes at least six months to understand the sections, sectional peculiarities, past incidents, enquiries conducted and the workings of one’s own team. Trust in branch officers is also essential. So what is logic of making #DRM with less than five months experience the scapegoats? Is it not a case of self preservation of senior management?
  • Several officers have pointed to the extremely poor #Safety record of the #Chakradharpur division which is famous as #LateDivisionCKP, the poor safety and block management of the #Howrah division which are of recent vintage and Waltair Division which continues to struggle on matters of safety. These divisions have been given extended leeway while Moradabad and Asansol DRMs have received no support. It is understood that #RKSingh and #SudheerSharma were ordered to camp at Moradabad and Asansol respectively and were sent instructions via WhatsApp. They were given the unpleasant task of informing sitting DRMs that they have been relieved. Repeated incidents of #NorthWesternRailway have also been pointed out in ‘deemed not happened’ category.

This raises significant concerns. It appears the current dispensation is intent on undermining the institution of Divisional Railway Managers. If DRMs are not afforded basic #courtesy while in office how can divisional officers respect their head? Cursory glance on the way these two DRMs have been dealt shows that they were unfairly singled out as many serving officers have openly stated. Why was no one waiting for the completion of the enquiry? Who was fearing what? Even Delhi stampede accident report is yet to come out even after eleven months and the upright and hardworking DRM was sacrificed while real culprits continue to be in New Delhi.

In the #Bilaspur accident where a #MEMU collided with a goods train killing 12 including the locomotive pilot, the Senior Divisional Electrical Engineer was held responsible. This incident exposed long existing uncomfortable truth. It is well-documented that MEMUs in India operated with locomotive pilots who were not qualified in psycho-tests a practice that was widespread across Indian Railways. Here also the Divisional Railway Manager was sacked—no action on the head quarters was taken.

Hasty implementation of #Kavach is also proving to be a night mare as #locomotive shuttles in and out of Kavach territory. Officers who have footplated are very worried about safety implications.

Several officers have highlighted a critical safety issues within the South Eastern Railway, South East Central Railway, East Coast Railway, East Central Railway and Eastern Railway. Their poor safety record is a national crisis and has been exacerbated by the Railway Board’s failure to maintain control over the system at Zonal Railways. This has been compounded by avoidable changes to the membership, a #policy of selective and non-transparent appointments and the presence of members with no experience of running divisions or zonal railways. The crisis being such that it should make the Prime Minister and Railway Minister sit up and take note. Contd..