Satish Kumar took over the charge of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), of the Railway Board on September 1. The cabinet appointment committee had earlier approved his appointment. Earlier, Kumar headed as the General Manager of North Central Railway, Prayagraj.

The 1986 batch officer of the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME) has served Indian Railways for over 34 years. He holds a degree of B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT), Jaipur, and a postgraduate diploma in Operation Management and Cyber Law from IGNOU.

During his service in Indian Railways, Satish Kumar has served in different zones and divisions, including the Jhansi Division of Central Railway and Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) in Varanasi. He also served in the North Eastern Railway, Gorakhpur, and Patiala Locomotive Works, contributing to critical projects to improve the operational efficiency of these divisions.

Read also: What Railways Ministry Said About “3.12 Lakh Posts Lying Vacant”?

For a specialization in Total Quality Management (TQM), he underwent training in TQM under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The newly appointed railway head has also a significant contributor of the Fog Safe Device, an innovative approach that has proven to be instrumental to ensure train safe operations during foggy conditions which become a critical tool for Indian Railways.

Also, Satish Kumar, the newly appointed Railway Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the first Dalit to head the Indian Railways in its 119 years of history.