Weeks after one of the deadliest train tragedies happened in the Balasore district of Odisha, five top officials of the South Eastern Railways (SER) were transferred, including those responsible for operations, safety, and signalling.Several top railways officials were stunted by railways broadHowever, the Railways called the move routine in nature. The decision was seen as a fallout of the triple train crash, which killed almost 292 people. Also, the tragedy was known to be the worst rail accident in three decades in the country.According to the news agency PTI, Railway Board in separate orders on Thursday stunted out Kharagpur Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Shujat Hashmi and the SER zones Principal Chief Signal and Telecommunication Engineer PM Sikdar, Principal Chief Safety Officer Chandan Adhikary, Principal Chief Security Commissioner DB Kasar, and Principal Chief Commercial Manager Md Owais.Marking as the first major action following the tragedy, Atulya Sinha, SER zones additional general manager was transferred nearly a fortnight after the accident. Even then, the officials called the transfer a routine.It is a routine: OfficialsSpeaking to the media on Thursday, railway spokesperson Amitabh Sharma reiterated that the transfer of the top five railway officials was “routine.”As per the Railway Board orders, Kharagpur DRM Hashmi has been replaced by KR Chaudhari, chairman of the Railway Recruitment Board, Ajmer. Principal Chief Signal and Telecommunication Engineer Sikdar has been transferred to North Central Railway as an officer on special duty, while Adhikary has been sent to the Northeast Frontier Railway. Moreover, the Principal Chief Security Commissioner, Kasar has also been transferred. Kasar is the security custodian of all railway assets and structures, including track and fixtures, rolling stock, signalling gears, and railway buildings and establishments.Exceptional case Despite several replacements and transfers, General Manager Archana Joshi will continue to serve her post as she is due to retire soon, the officials said.
