Crisis of Competency: Time for Traffic Service to Redeem Itself

Admin

A national-level campaign was launched by #IRTS officers—both serving and retired—to bring the post of Member Operations & Business Development (#MOBD) back to the IRTS. They succeeded. However, it is now time for them to step out of their “ivory towers” and learn to work honestly on the ground instead of pitting one service against another. Every officer should be clear that the post of #MOBD is currently on “probation.” If this service does not mend its ways at the ground level, it will be necessary to make this post ex-cadre once again.

We have been criticized for supporting the #encadrement of this post—our criticism was actually directed at the individual who had detached himself from the rank and file of the IRTS cadre he was controlling. We advocate for a working system where every service operates with a “service mindset.” Unfortunately, it appears that the traffic service has not yet learned its lessons.

Centre for Railway Information Systems (#CRIS) is supposedly the playground of the traffic service. Its failure to modernize #controlrooms has become a major #bottleneck of alarming proportions affecting the entire country—it is well known how the IRTS opposed the introduction of modern real-time tools for train dispatch.

A senior civil engineer stated that the recent Chairman Railway Board (#CRB) Safety meeting introduced 20 new monitoring points for #tracks that require urgent attention. However, field officers are currently struggling to achieve predictable “block management” (getting track time for maintenance) on a day-to-day basis. He noted that the traffic service attempts to assign failures and delays arbitrarily to any department, creating uncertainty in the operation of blocks.

He emphasized that today, every department is compelled to work with outsourced manpower as the volume of work cannot be managed departmentally. After mobilization, when blocks are curtailed or cancelled, significant stress is generated, which negatively impacts the quality of work. #Contractors are penalized for no reason, as they incur unnecessary costs for heavy machinery and labor when blocks are cancelled without compensation.

He described block meetings as akin to a “comedy circus with a dark twist.” The Rolling Block Programs, introduced with great fanfare, are routinely fabricated (on paper) and have caused widespread skepticism within the organization. Given the daily and hourly uncertainty in block operation, the concept of rolling blocks is questionable.

The #moribund and siloed cadre of #controllers is a serious concern. A former traffic officer has noted that controllers are now the most challenging group to manage and that many operating branch officers are failing to do so, which has increased stress levels across the working level of all frontline departments. This is a “crisis of competency.” Unless the #traffic cadre wakes up to reality, they will be called out for being a drag on the country’s economy.

Factual Context:

The above whistleblower input highlights the internal “departmental warfare” within the Indian Railways, typically seen as Operating (#Traffic) vs. Maintenance (#Engineering/S&T).

MOBD Post Controversy & IRMS

  • The Fact: The Government of India introduced the Indian Railways Management Service (#IRMS) to merge 8 different cadres to eliminate “silos” in the name of departmentalism.
  • Context: Previously, the MOBD post was no longer reserved exclusively for the IRTS, which faced strong opposition from traffic officers who argued that operations require specialized expertise. Recent shifts toward restoring cadre-specific roles are viewed by the author as a “test” for the IRTS.

Rolling Block Program

  • The Fact: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw introduced the “Rolling Block” concept to ensure adequate maintenance time (planning track work 15 days in advance).
  • The Crisis: On the ground, due to “Punctuality” pressures, the Operating department often refuses these blocks to the Engineering department or cancels them at the last minute, this wastes resources and compromises track safety.

CRIS & Resistance to Technology

  • The Fact: CRIS handles the IT infrastructure of the Indian Railways.
  • Analysis: Allegations often surface that transparent, data-driven systems—like real-time train tracking—are resisted because they eliminate the scope for manual manipulation and the “hiding” of delays.

Safety vs. Punctuality

  • The Fact: Recent accidents—such as the Kanchanjunga Express accident in 2024–have highlighted the functioning of control rooms and the extreme stress on section controllers.
  • Analysis: When controllers and operating officers focus solely on “running trains” and view “track maintenance” as a nuisance, it creates a safety crisis. The term “comedy circus” refers to meetings where data is manipulated simply to meet paper targets.

Conclusion

The text points toward a persistent “Silo Culture.” If the Traffic department (IRTS) fails to coordinate with technical departments, it not only risks railway safety but also damages the national economy by increasing logistics costs.