Rail services were suspended for nearly a month after lockdown was announced in March.
Railways is taking a relook at its spending anticipating an "adverse impact" on its revenues this year after the earnings dropped by 58 per cent in May amid coronavirus lockdown. An expanded list of "austerity measures" has been shared with all the zonal heads for expenditure management by reviewing staff cost, contracts and administrative operations and "strict monitoring of fuel savings".
"There is a need to explore new areas of expenditure control and enhancement of earnings," reads a letter by Manjula Rangarajan to the general managers of all the zones, who have been urged to "suggest other out of the box measures implemented or contemplated at your end".
No new hiring will take place, except for the safety-related posts, according to the letter. "Immediate review of re-engaged staff and feasibility of curtailing the same to bare minimum shall be explored. Freeze new post creation except safety-related posts," it reads.
"Redeployment should be done to ensure utilization of existing manpower for multitasking," the document with elaborate guidelines on expenditure management reads.
Outsourcing activities - such as on board housekeeping services, station cleaning, lifts and escalators manning, station announcement- have to be "critically reviewed and curtailed," the zonal managers have been told. "Shifting some of these activities to CSR (Corporate social responsibility) funds may be attempted," it says.
No new revenue proposals or tenders should be "initiated or finalised unless there is clear fund availability". On recution of cost of operations, it says: "Annual inspections should be a silent and low key affair with minimum number of staff required," says the letter, stressing the costs should be reduced by going digital.
"Inaugural and ceremonial functions should be moved to online as far as possible. Cash Awards should be limited to safety security and medical related activities. Expenditure like entertainment publicity, travel and organising meeting should be curtailed," the zonal managers have been told.
Train services were suspended for more than one month, probably for the first time since the country's independence, after a nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24 to tackle the pandemic. On May 1, special trains were announced for migrant labourers stranded away from their homes without jobs. Some passenger trains have also been resumed now.
More than four lakh people have been affected across the country by the pandemic, which has badly hit the economy.