Who's in-charge at Rail Bhawan?

A few months ago in 2021, the Prime Minister had affected a cabinet reshuffle amongst the various changes made the one that most prominently stood out was the appointment of Ashwini Vaishnaw as Railway Minister. Vaishnaw, an ex-IAS officer of the 1994 batch, was expected to provide a fresh impetus to the railways.

A few days into his new assignment, Ashwini Vaishnaw unable to find his way through the labyrinth that Indian railways is, appointed Sudhir Kumar as his advisor. Sudhir Kumar, an Electrical Services officer of the Indian railways had retired as an additional member railway board a few years back. Kumar is said to have established his rapport with the Minister when Vaishnaw was working in the private sector and had to engage with Rail Bhawan on a frequent basis.

When Vaishnaw was appointed as Rail Minister last year, Kumar was immediately appointed as his adviser.

According to sources in Rail Bhawan, Kumar in the last nine months has grown to become highly powerful and is said to be in charge of all major appointments.

Several officials in Rail Bhawan have alleged that Kumar has appointed his own team in all critical positions.

“It is no rocket science to know who actually controls the levers of power in Rail Bhawan. Ideally, the men posted in the key cells should have been the Minister’s men of his own choice. It may be noted that the appointment of Sudhir Kumar is without any approval of the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet,” a senior railway official said.

“It may also be noted that presently 10 key posts of General Managers and two posts of member railway board continue to be vacant, while apex grade officers with impeccable reputation and performance record have taken VRS,” the official added.