The Indian Railways is exploring the possibility of setting up four universities across the country for trained manpower. The railways, which is hailed as the lifeline of the country, currently has only one training institute located in Baroda. The idea of a dedicated railway university originally came from none other than ‘Metro Man’ E Sreedharan. Union Railway minister D V Sadananda Gowda had talked about plans for one such university in his maiden budget speech and has now extended it to set up four such universities in different parts of India in a phased manner over the next five years. According to Gowda, graduates coming out of railway universities will have an assurance of getting absorbed in the system as all-rounders. “We should have a full view on the issue by December and roll out the university from start of an academic year,” the minister said. These Railway Universities are slated to be world-class and will impart knowledge in diversified fields of technology and innovations in Railway operations etc. The intention to set up Railway Universities is not to limit the university to a particular region but to cover all four corners of the country.
