The Union government today (August 31) appointed Jaya Verma Sinha as the first woman Chairperson cum CEO of the Railway Board, the highest decision-making body for the national transporter.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Railway Board is the topmost position in the Railway apparatus. Four members of the board – Member- Infrastructure, Member (Operations and Business Development), Member-Finance and Member-Traction and Rolling Stock report to the Chairman & CEO.
In addition, several key officials also directly report to the CEO including Director-General –HR, Director-General (Railway Health Services), Secretary (Railway Board), Director-General (Railway Protection Force), Principal Executive Director (Vigilance), Principal Executive Director( Infrastructure), Additional Member (Planning) and Director General (Safety).
Sinha is currently serving as a Member of Operations and Business Development (MOBD)) in the Railway Board and managed passenger and freight traffic.
As MOBD,she was the first woman to hold that crucial top-most traffic post in the Railway Board.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Jaya Verma Sinha, Indian Railway Management Services (IRMS), Member (Operations & Business Development), Railway Board to the post of Chairman & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Railway Board,” the government order said.
She succeeds Anil Kumar Lahoti.
She will assume charge on or after September 1, and her tenure will be till August 31, 2024.
Sinha is slated to retire on October 1 but will be re-employed the same day till her tenure is over.
An alumnus of Allahabad University, Sinha joined the Indian Railway Traffic Service in 1988 and worked in the Northern Railway, S E Railway and Eastern Railway.
She also served as a Railway Advisor at the High Commission of India, Dhaka, Bangladesh, for four years. The Maitree Express from Kolkata to Dhaka was inaugurated during her tenure in Bangladesh.
She also was the Divisional Railway Manager, Eastern Railway, Sealdah Division.
She was recently at the centre stage of the railways’ media interactions when, as a Member (of Operations and Business Development), she explained the complex signalling system after the tragic Balasore accident, which killed nearly 300 people.