Chapter-9

General Manager’s Annual Inspection The General Manager accompanied by the Heads of the Department undertakes annual inspection of all the divisions generally in winter months. The itinerary is so designed that almost all routes are covered in rotation once in say 4 -5 years. The division braces itself for the fateful day. The officers and Inspectors carry out intensive inspection of the things in their jurisdiction. The shortcomings are made good. The stations are spruced up. The special train – Its formation included saloons, different classes of coaches for accommodation of the officers, Inspectors & other staff, dining car, guard’s brake van and an inspection car at one end with trailing windows. Apart from speedometer many gadgets for measurement of track and rolling stock parameters are available in the Inspection car. A telephone connection is provided between the Inspection car and the locomotive. The GM flanked by the Chief Engineer, Chief Operations Manager, the Divisional Railway Manager and the Commissioner of Railway safety (CRS) should he choose to accompany, are seated on the first row. In the rear the Divisional officers sit with their respective Head of the Department. There are other senior officers from the headquarters. Tea and snacks (sometimes local delicacies with the courtesy of the division) are served from time to time. Before the start of the train the DRM places a list of stations, level crossings, gangs, curves, bridges proposed for inspection. These are all well attended beforehand for giving an impressive show. The General Manager or CE or the CRS, however, may make last moment changes to introduce an element of surprise. The inspection of the assets and the records is thorough. Even the entries made by the officials in the inspection registers are cross checked. Many decisions are given on the spot. Rewards are announced by the GM for good work done. Apart from the GM, every HOD records his own inspection notes. Inspection of P Way gang, bridge & level crossing in the midsection--When the train stops at the designated place the window shutter in the rear panel is opened and the staircase provided there lowered to allow the officials to get down onto the track. The stoppage time is announced by the CE. The Civil engineers as also some officials of other departments wield testing hammers designed to test the tightness of the track fittings and clearances. While checking a gang adequacy of the tools, equipment, the progress chart and the previous day’s work are gone into. The staff are questioned about their knowledge of the rules. Their grievances are also heard. Items checked during inspection of the bridge include the appurtenances, inspection steps, HFL marking, condition of paint on the girders, greasing of the bearings, tightness of track fastenings etc. The entries made in the bridge books are gone into. The engineers take due care to come up to mark during inspection of level crossing. Since it is very difficult to equip full safety equipment at all the level crossings the Permanent way Inspector (PWI) does not take a chance. Remaining on the footplate of the loco he carries with him a bag containing new hand signal flags, detonators, tommy bars etc. As soon as the loco reaches the level crossing, he drops the bag and by the time the inspection car (rearmost) reaches the spot the trained gate keeper is ready to display these equipments to the Inspecting official. When the inspection is over and the officials are returning to the Inspection car the PWI remembers to collect them for display at the next level crossing. Station inspection- Care is exercised that passenger trains are not detained on account of running of the Inspection Special. It is customary for the general public to assemble at the station to greet the GM with “zindabad” slogans and bouquets. They hand over their charter of demands (stoppages, more amenities). The GM treats them with due courtesy, but the Chief Commercial Manager has a different story to tell. He brings out the figures of poor sales of tickets to outwit them. Some railway staff also come up with their grievance on service matters. The Chief Personnel Officer takes note of them and assures action. One Chief safety officer (CSO) was fond of asking the station master to show the pair of scissors. He wanted to ensure that the wicks of the signal lamps are properly trimmed so that they burn well. The Divisional safety officer (DSO) knew it and hence carried a pair of scissors in his pocket. On arrival at the station, he would rush to the Station Master and hand over the scissors for showing to the CSO. After the inspection is over the DSO would not forget to collect the scissors for repeating the same trick at the next station. Lunch & Dinner- Lunch is taken in the dining car. As per convention the HOD plays host to his divisional officer by footing his bill in addition to his own. If it is a two-day inspection, the first day inspection generally ends at an important station or the divisional headquarters, if necessary, with a short non-inspection run. In the evening the headquarters officers are entertained by the division through a cultural programme followed by dinner. The inspection on the second day may start from a different station entailing some non-inspection run during the night hours. On return to Howrah station after the inspection is over, the General Manager, after getting down from his saloon, shakes hands with the guard of the train before proceeding to his residence.