Commissioner of Railway Safety: For some works, Rlys cuts a layer of official go-ahead

The Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) and railway electrification works will no longer require clearance from the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), according to a latest decision of the government.

Curbing the scope of powers of CRS significantly, the government has also taken foot-over bridges, minor bridges and manned level crossings off the list of works that would require CRS approval for construction, rebuilding, strengthening, etc.

The logic behind the move — in the making for the last few years now — is that the internal, established apparatus within Railways is good enough to assess any safety implications these works might have, and as such Railways is competent to take a call on these matters without involving CRS, which is under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.