About Transformation Cell   To give a stronger push to the transformation agenda, Ministry of Railways, through its order no. 19 in March’17, has set up a self-contained multidisciplinary “ Transformation Cell ” in Railway Board. The cell comprises of Executive Director and Director level officers from traffic, electrical, engineering, mechanical, signaling & telecom, accounts, personnel, and stores. It is headed by a Principal Executive Director who reports directly to the Chairman, Railway Board.   The Transformation Cell has been tasked to not only strategize and implement the transformation agenda, but also to generate and drive next level of strategic initiatives & innovative ideas and expedite their implementation in a time bound manner. In the first phase, the cell has been mandated to implement the 55 initiatives identified in the ‘Rail Vikas Shivir’, followed by identification and subsequent implementation of new initiatives.   Indian Railways Vision   IR’s vision is to be a key driver in this mission, spread across 9 themes -    1.  Create a 3X bigger IR that is economically viable : This entails leveraging INR 8,50,000 Cr. of capex to expand the railways infrastructure to support the aspirational modal mix in freight volumes.   2.  Ensure every train journey for Indian citizen is a pleasurable experience : This would mean fundamentally redefining the customer value proposition by positioning key metrics like cleanliness, convenience, punctuality and service orientation.   3.  Making IR the preferred freight carrier : IR’s aim is to increase its modal share to 37% , in the next 10 years, through dynamic pricing, key account management, expansion of the freight basket and incorporation of a customer focused approach.   4.  Dramatically improve non-fare revenues through advertising and real estate : For the next 5 years, the aim is to increase non-fare revenue to 15%, by fully redeveloping at least 100 stations, getting full potential from advertising and innovative measures to monetize other assets and services.   5.  Move towards near zero fatalities on IR : In the next 5 years, IR wants to move to near zero fatalities. The action plan for the same involves mobilizing resources to introduce technological interventions and infrastructure upgrades.   6.  Modernize IR by using best-in-class technology : IR intends to evaluate root cause of its sedate progress in adopting best-in-class technology, thereby introducing policy interventions to embark on its journey to modernization.   7.  Foster collaborative, agile and innovate culture in IR : IR aims to leverage global as well as internal experience to come up with big shifts to foster collaborative, agile and innovative railways, thereby enhancing cross-functional collaboration and build mechanisms for building and sustaining these capabilities.   8.  Significantly improve cost positions across functions : IR is aiming to decrease operational cost by 10%  in the next 5 years. This will involve focusing on variable and fixed cost reduction while improving overall operational efficiency.   9.  Environmental sustainability : India as a nation is looking to move towards a model of sustainable development, IR intents to play its part in this with a focus on exploring alternative energy sources.   History Starts At The Rail Vikas Shivir PM’s inaugural at RVS   At the initiative of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, as an unprecedented milestone mega exercise, involving the entire organization at all levels, Indian Railways organized a 3 day Rail Vikas Shivir (Rail Development Camp) at Surajkund near New Delhi, from 18th November 2016 to 20th November 2016 with a view to generate numerous innovative, yet practical ideas across most critical areas of Railway Operations for substantial progress of this sector. This was for the first time in the 163 year of Indian Railways that such a brainstorming and planning exercise with multistage and multidimensional dialogue at this large scale was conducted involving all Railway Employees from gangmen to Railway Board Chairman, cutting across hierarchies.   The Rail Vikas Shivir is aim was to,   • Significantly energize the entire organization   • Build momentum for execution through numerous pragmatic yet innovative ideas   • Showcase the collective thought leadership of Indian Railways   • Drive non-hierarchical participation across the entire rail fraternity   • Make this event a starting point for a journey of continuous improvement   The high point of the Shivir was when the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi shared his thoughts on the rail sector for country’s economic growth on the first day of the Shivir and gave his directions and guidance setting the agenda for this mega event.   Road Ahead.. Strong participation during the ‘Rail Vikas Shivir’ and further deliberations helped IR in identifying 55 key initiatives to continue its transformation journey. Post this Ministry of Railways constituted the Transformation Cell to be the custodian of these initiatives and ideate new transformative initiatives, going forward. Railway Board Office Order No. 19 of 2017   Oraganisation Structure Initiatives Across Directorates Chairman, Railway Board Traffic Directorate Engineering Directorate Traction Directorate Rolling Stock Directorate Signaling & Telecom Directorate Accounts Directorate Stores Directorate Staff Directorate