'Railways need more investment in tech, skill development'

Railway Board chairman A K Mital today said there is a need to invest more in technology and skill development.
"Initially, over 150 or so years ago, we had pretty much the same equipment that railways in Europe used to have. But we have lagged behind substantially. The time has come for us to improve on all counts. Safety is of paramount importance. Signalling and Telecom has emerged as very, very important over a period of time for Indian Railways," he said.
He was addressing a gathering at the inauguration of national seminar on 'Safety in Indian Railways - Role of S and T Department', organised by the National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR) here.

NFIR General Secretary M Raghavaiah, President Guman Singh, senior officers such as Additional Member (Signal), Railway Board, Akhil Agarwal, IRISET Director Vikrant Kalra and Chief Safety Officer of SCR S P Sahu were present at athe event.
Mittal allayed apprehensions about high-speed trains, saying they are in service in Japan for the past four decades with a commendable track record.