New Delhi/Vadodara

Ministry of Railways will set up India’s first Railway University at Vadodara in Gujarat. This was stated by Minister of State for Railway Shri Manoj Sinha in Rajya Sabha in reply to questions asked by Members of Parliament Palvai Govardhan Reddy and Ranjib Biswal.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had in his Railway Budget speech said, “We are in the process of setting up a full-fledged University during 2015-16.”

When asked to share further details on Government’s this decision by members of parliament, Minister of State(Railways) Sinha in Rajya Sabha stated: “Ministry of Railways has decided to establish one University on Indian Railways, at present, by upgrading National Academy of Indian Railways, Vadodara and by taking the existing Centralized Training Institutes and other training institutes under its umbrella. The University would award Degrees and Diplomas in various technical and non-technical areas related to the working of Railways. No funds have been allocated for this purpose. Timeline for commissioning of the University has not been fixed.”

It should be mentioned here that National Academy of Indian Railway was established 63 years ago to give training to railway officers. Its campus is located in Pratapnagar area of Vadodara. The academy is functioning in Pratapvilas palace which was built by then ruler of Baroda state Gaekwad in year 1914. The design of this palace was made by CF Stevens. NAIR was originally established in Dehradoon in year 1930. It was later shifted to Vadodara in year 1952. Training is given to railway employees from probationer to general manager rank in this academy for the period ranging from one week to ten weeks.

The academy has rich library with 50,000 books including 8600 titles in Hindi. It has 15,000 journals and 103 magazines.It has multipurpose auditorium room that showcases models of 18 railway stations.

Last January, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had visited this academy to attend a function here marking foundation day of NAIR Vadodara.

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