Western Railways appoints Vineet Abhishekh as new CPRO

Vineet Abhishekh. Pic/ X

Vineet Abhishek has been appointed as the Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of Western Railway, reported PTI on Tuesday. The appointment comes after his predecessor Sumit Thakur was transferred from the post.

As per the PTI report, Vineet previously served as the Senior Divisional Commercial Manager of the Mumbai Central Division of Western Railway (WR).

He took charge as WR CPRO with effect from June 10 after Thakur was transferred to the Vadodara division as a senior divisional engineer (coordination), a WR release stated.

Vineet is an Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officer from the 2010 Civil Services batch, said the PTI report.

A management graduate, Vineet has over 19 years of expertise in urban planning and transportation, with a diverse career spanning public, corporate, and non-profit sectors.

His educational journey includes advanced studies and research at several prestigious foreign institutions, focusing on sustainable transportation, infrastructure planning, municipal financing, budgeting, and public-private partnerships (PPPs).

"Beyond his professional engagements, Vineet is an avid commentator on sustainable transportation and public policy issues," the release said.

Mumbai Western Railway technical glitch: Unprecedented rush in Metro after local train services hit

Amid the increasing delay in services of local trains due to Mumbai Western Railway technical glitch, the commuters decided to take the metro on Monday. Due to this, an unprecedented amount of crowding was spotted in some Mumbai Metro Lines 2A and 7 stations.

According to the officials of Mumbai Metropolitan Development Authority (MMRDA), which runs the metro line, the overcrowding was witnessed at Borivali, Kurar and Rashtriya Udyan metro stations. The MMRDA will be offering additional services to "alleviate the rush" caused by the Mumbai Western Railway technical glitch.

MMRDA, in their official statement, said, "Due to the delay on the western railway, there has been a significant increase in overcrowding at Borivali station, Kurar, and Rashtriya Udyan metro stations. In response, Metropolitan Commissioner Dr Sanjay Mukherjee has instructed the addition of extra services to alleviate the rush. Currently, four extra train sets have been added on Metro lines 2A and 7."They, speaking further about the overcrowding caused by the Mumbai Western Railway technical glitch, added, "The provision of additional services with extra train sets will continue until the situation normalises."

The planning and development agency said, "In light of the overcrowding at various metro stations, we have taken the decision to run extra services. Normally, 21 train sets operate during peak hours, but today a total of 24 train sets are in service. We are committed to providing services during emergencies."

Meanwhile, the Divisional Railway Manager, Western Railway, took to X (formerly Twitter) to inform the public that the work of signalling points have been restore at Borivali and that they are working towards complete restoration.

"Further Signaling Points 107/108 and points 131/132 have been restored at Borivali. Work is in progress for complete restoration. Thank you for your patience," the DRM wrote.