Well, here is an example of how a rule was broken (or bent) to earn money for the Railways, for isn’t that what we are supposed to do primarily. A cement company in my Division (Salem) had its lorry operators go on strike. Their shipments to Kerala were held up and inventory was piling up. Seeking business opportunity, I sent my brilliant SrDOM to visit them. They were thrilled to host the SrDOM, who asked them how Railways could help them. They said that they wanted a half-rake (or a mini rake of BCNs, i.e. 21 covered wagons) every day. The SrDOM checked with me on phone. Not knowing my limitations I advised the SrDOM to promise them a half-rake everyday provided they loaded on Sundays too.
Next day in office I found out that an empty rake was available and then told the SrDOM to send half of it, as a mini rake, to the cement company. He said, “But Sir, the CFTM from Head Quarters wants the empty rake to be sent to SCRly.” I asked him if it was wise to send an empty rake nearly four hundred kilometers away, when business awaited at mere fifteen. He expressed helplessness and I understood. The glorified post of DRM has very little say in the commercial business of IR, though he/she is held accountable if there is a drop. Every single rake placement is decided by the operating department from HQ under central directives of the TT directorate of the Board, generally bypassing the DRMs and GMs.
I then called the SrDME and told him to “mark half the rake sick (defective)”, which was promptly done. Then I told the SrDOM that half the rake was unfit anyway and to place the “fit half” in the cement company’s siding. It was done. The next day, the SrDME was asked to “make the other half fit”, which too was done and the rake placed promptly. Thus the firm loaded the second mini-rake. Now, one could say that this was a clear case of “favour” to a private party and could invite a vigilance enquiry. However, I know no other rule than one that favours the customer.
The CFTM understood that I meant business and backed off, though not completely. When the hundredth rake was loaded, he was prompt in writing a letter to the Railway Board claiming credit for the feat. The bigger bada sahib, the PCOM, paid a visit to the cement company to receive profuse thanks and enjoyed a dinner hosted by them. The DRM was not taken along :-)
That year the Division had a 478% increase in cement loading, nearly six times business compared to the previous year. There was a general drop of 6% in cement loading across the rest of Indian Railways. This was achieved even when our tariff was 35% higher than that charged by road transporters. The cement company terminated the road transport contract.
The CFTM later became a DRM and called me for tips. I told him that the first thing he should do was to ignore his CFTM.
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