Gorakhpur: As many as 53 railway employees were felicitated with the ‘Vishisht Rail Seva Puraskar’ for their outstanding performance at the 70th Rail Week award ceremony held here on Thursday. The awards were presented by North Eastern Railway (NER) GM Uday Borwankar.The awardees included track maintainers, technicians, station masters, loco pilots, clerks, inspectors, section engineers, medical staff and officers from various departments. Officials said their dedicated service led to improved productivity, prevention of accidents and enhanced operational efficiency.The Lucknow Division received inter-divisional shields for overall efficiency, innovation, signal, personnel, stores, traction energy, engineering and mechanical performance. Gonda loco shed received loco maintenance shield, while Varanasi Division won shields for public relations, telecom, electrical, safety and medical services. Izzatnagar Division was awarded for safety, environment management, accounts and operations.Among stations, Gorakhpur Junction won the clean station trophy in the A1 and A categories and Rudrapur City railway station in B category and Izzatnagar railway station in D and E categories. Shiv Ganga Express was adjudged the best-maintained rake.Congratulating the awardees, Borwankar said the recognition aims to motivate staff to maintain high standards of safety and passenger service, adding that the honours were for work done in 2024. Emphasising passenger safety and service quality, he said NER remains committed to providing safe, secure and comfortable travel while encouraging employees to set new standards in rail operations.
