Saloons used in safety checks: Rly officials

The swanky air-conditioned saloons, which comprise a spacious bedroom and drawing room with dining and dressing tables and couches, have something to do also with safety as they do with officers’ comfort. A crucial inspection called “trailing window inspection” was being done only using the saloons, which have a windshield like facility at the rear for officers to observe the tracks, signals, stations and staff from a moving train. 

“We would keep a tiny portion of the trailing window screen open. To a staff on field duty, it would appear completely closed, but from inside, we would be able to monitor the deficiencies that are required to be observed from the rear of the saloon. The observation ‘deck’ also has gauges to assess the vital parameters of the train,” said a principal head of the department of southern railway requesting anonymity. The fears of officers could also not be discounted given that they would also reach out to the remotest places, which do not have even simple running room like facilities let alone inspection bungalows, for inspections. 

“Saloons were in fact introduced and officers were permitted to use them only for that reason,” a senior division level officer said, also admitting that a few officers do put the saloons to personal use, accommodating family and friends beyond the permissible limit. 

Clause 1 (B) of section X of chapter 16 of Indian Railway Establishment Code says; “When a Member is traveling in his saloon on a Gold Pass, his family (wife and children but no other dependents) may travel with him in the saloon for free.” Clause 1 (a) of the code defines member as a “member of the Railway Board, which includes Chairman, Railway Board and the Financial Commissioner for Railways”, who, for the purpose of these rules, shall be entitled, when travelling on duty, to be provided with one standard gauge Saloon for his exclusive use.

The Southern Railway, roughly, has a little over a dozen saloons, including two reserved for the zonal general manager (used during Minister’s visits) and one each for all DRMs and the additional GM. All principal HoDs and officers of immediate junior rank are also eligible to use the saloons. However, exceptions were made in the past for VVIPS like DMK working president M Karunanidhi (during his tenure as chief minister) and another leader of a regional party whose MP was a minister of state for railways once, who had ‘used’ the saloons on a few instances over a decade ago. “Being VVIPs, they might have been granted special concessions back then. Otherwise, only ministers and railway officers can avail the saloons,” explained another SR officer.