New Delhi: Suneet Sharma is new Chairman & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Railway Board as the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved his appointment recently. Prior to this, he was serving as General Manager in Eastern Railways. He has also held additional charge as General Manager of Kolkata Metro. With his new assignment, Sharma has replaced VK Yadav, who was given an extension in January this year.
Sharma is a Special Class Railway Apprentice (SCRA) Officer of the 1978-batch. He comes with a strong technical background and has expertise in different spheres of the working of the Railways. He has worked at various levels – Zonal Railways, Workshops, Diesel Loco Sheds. He has 35 years of experience in Indian Railways. He is known for introducing various administrative reforms, including simplification of procedure for establishing new benchmarks in the Indian Railways. He has a major contribution in aiding the modernisation of the railways, as well as conservation of energy and preservation of environment. While working in Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi, he played a pivotal role in the conversion of diesel locomotives to electric locomotives to achieve Indian Railways' aim of 100 percent electrification.
Sharma has held various important positions such as Divisional Railway Manager, Pune, Central Railway, Chief Rolling Stock Engineer (Freight), Central Railway, Chief Mechanical Engineer (Planning), Central Railway, Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer, Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi. Prior to taking over as General Manager in Eastern Railway, he has served as General Manager of Modern Coach Factory, Rae Bareilly.
Apart from attending different training programmes in various Railway Institutes, he attended training in Germany and France on "Railway Workshops Maintenance Practices and Costing Systems," in Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA, on "Advance Management Courses" and in RAI, Tehran, Iran, on "Assistance in Loco Production in Iran."
The Railway Board is the apex body of the Indian Railways, which reports to the parliament through the Ministry of Railways. The Railway Board comprises one Chairman, seven Members of the Railway Board, and a Financial Commissioner (who is the representative of the Ministry of Finance in the Railway Board). It also includes a Director-General (Railway Health Services), Director-General (HR) and a Director-General (Railway Protection Force). A number of directorates report to the Railway Board. Most of the officers posted in the Ministry of Railways are either from organised "Group A Railway services" or the Railway Board Secretariat Service.
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