(HT)
Ashwani Lohani, the chairman and managing director of Air India, was on Wednesday appointed the new chairman of the Railway Board following AK Mittal’s resignation from the post. The development comes close on the heels of Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu hinting that he had offered to quit in the wake of a string of train accidents, the most serious of which left at least 23 dead.
Lohani, an Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers officer, had been a key figure in the turnaround of Air India. Sources said he enjoys a good rapport with the Prime Minister’s Office. According to media reports, Mittal tendered his resignation to Prabhu after Kaifiyat Express derailed in UP’s Auraiya district early Wednesday after dashing against a dumper carrying construction material for railway work, leaving over 74 people injured.
On August 19, the Kalinga-Utkal Express had derailed in Khatauli in Muzaffarnagar in the state, killing 22 people and injuring 156 others. The accident was apparently caused by negligence of railway staffers, who, preliminary investigations showed, cut a track for maintenance despite not obtaining clearance. The track eventually split as the train arrived.
