THE RAILWAY CONFERENCE

Lahore, Sunday, October 12, 1984

ON another page will be found the text of the speech made by the Viceroy in opening the annual session of the Railway Conference Association in the Assembly Chamber at Simla on Thursday morning. In view both of the highly important place which Railways already occupy in India, as elsewhere, in the economy of national life and the still more important place they are destined to occupy in the near future as the tendency to bring them more and more under State management and control is developed and perfected and the State itself becomes nationalised, it is only in the fitness of things that His Excellency, as the head of the State, should open the annual session of the Conference, and, as he himself said in his speech, should have an opportunity of addressing those who are principally interested in running them. It does occur to us, however, in going through the proceedings of the Conference on the opening day that the atmosphere was purely official, and that the general public, who are far more deeply interested in the working of the railways than either the Government or even the railway administration were either not represented at all or far too inadequately represented. Why cannot the Association invite some of India’s prominent public men to be present at the Conference not merely to witness its proceedings from the visitors’ gallery but to actually participate in them? The departure would not only be greatly appreciated by the public but would do real and solid good by enabling the Indian and popular view of the questions affecting the administration of the Railways to be placed before the Conference and also making it possible for the railway officials themselves.