Railways to 'right-size' Rly Board by 25 %, transfer 50 officials to zones: Sources

The railways has decided to prune the Railway Board by 25 per cent, cutting down its strength from 200 to 150 by transferring director-level officials and above to zonal railways in a long pending move to enhance efficiency, sources said on Sunday.

The plan was first mooted in 2000 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, which recommended right sizing of the apex decision making body of the national transporter.

“Currently, there are 200 officials in the Board. It will be reduced to 150 with 50 officers of director and above level being transferred to the zonal railways. This was long overdue as it was felt that too many people were doing similar jobs and senior officials were needed in zones to increase efficiency,” said a source.