News


Indian railway minister steps down amid corruption scandal J


Kevin Smith Features editor


UST six months after taking the job, India’s railways minister Mr Pawan Bansal


resigned on May 10 amid a bribery and corruption scandal brought about by the arrest of his nephew Mr Vijay Singla and Indian Railway board member staff, Mr Mahesh Kumar on May 3. Bansal’s resignation has


reportedly paralysed IR. Major policy and administrative decisions, including the appointment of a board member, traffic, a replacement for Kumar, as well as proceeding with the


formalities of setting up new diesel and electric locomotive plants in Madhepura and Marhoura (p15), are now in limbo. The process for selecting a replacement for the chairman of the railway board, Mr Vinay Mittal, who retires on June 30, has also not been initiated.


Singla, and seven


accomplices who have now been arrested, are accused of selling the political favours


necessary to secure prominent jobs in the railway industry following a surveillance investigation by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A preliminary CBI report states that up to eight positions have been sold, including the position of board member electrical to Kumar for around Rs 100m ($US 1.82m). Kumar, who was appointed


board member staff on May 2, is thought to have paid Rs 20m to acquire the position of general manager, signalling and telecommunications for the Western Railway while holding the board member, staff position, an appointment that would require the blessing of the railways minister. In addition he is thought to have agreed to pay Rs 100m to become the next board member electrical where he would be responsible for granting electric rolling stock and electrification contracts. The CBI is also said to be investigating whether Kumar’s appointment as board member staff was legitimate.


The process to identify a successor to Indian Railways board chairman Mr Vinay Mittal (left) is in limbo following railways minister Mr Pawan Bansal’s (right) resignation.


Singla and middleman Mr Sandeep Goyal are also thought to have facilitated the appointment of Mr Dayal Arya as head of material management functions at Chittaranjan Locomotive Works and Mr Narrotam Das as chief electrical engineer at the Karpurthala Coach Factory. Das’ appointment on December 17 2012 was


Grube: Germany should be model for Europe’s railways G


ERMAN Rail (DB) CEO Dr Rüdiger


Grube has called on European governments to adopt the structure of Germany’s railway industry to foster competition and increase market share.


Unveiling DB’s annual Competition Report, Grube argued that with 25% of German passenger services (by train-km) in the hands of private operators, and 28.6% of freight, Germany has successfully fostered a competitive environment for rail services without adopting the full vertical separation prescribed in European legislation.


“Given the positive trend in Germany we have no sympathy with the European Commission’s efforts to destroy Europe’s integrated


4


preceded by 16 phone calls between him and Singla, and four to Bansal’s private secretary, Mr Rahul Bhandain. Bansal’s resignation was accepted by prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh during a meeting in Delhi. However, he has not yet been questioned about his involvement in the affair and has since pleaded his innocence.


in future infrastructure funding; the lengthy certification process for new rolling stock, which has become a significant risk for operators in Germany; and the lack of progress in tackling what it terms “distortions in intra-European


railway systems,” Grube says. “The successful German model should be an example for other countries to follow that will finally encourage more competition on their railways.”


DB says that rail’s


competitive position is under threat from the lack of security


competition” in opening passenger markets. Grube is not the only senior industry figure calling for greater flexibility in European legislation. In an exclusive interview in this issue of IRJ (p20), French National Railways (SNCF) president Mr Guillaume Pepy dismissed the idea of defining a single structure for Europe as “foolish.” “Each country has its own needs and the needs of countries such as Germany and Luxembourg differ greatly,” he says.


GySEV invites bids for Hungarian


electrification project G


YÖR-Sopron-Ebenfurth Railway (GySEV) has issued tenders for the electrification of the


Szombathely - Hegyeshalom line in western Hungary, which the company took over from Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) in 2011. The project involves electrification of the 87km section from Porpác, east of Szombathely, to Mosonszolnok near Hegyeshalom, rebuilding platforms to a height of 500mm at 15 stations, upgrading 6km of track for 100km/h operation, and installing electric point heaters. Signalling and telecommunications will also be upgraded.


The deadline for submission of bids is June 27 and the project is due to be completed by the end of 2015.


IRJ June 2013


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