Sudhanshu Mani

I started my professional journey in 1976 when I joined Indian Railways (IR) as a trainee in a four year engineering course at the Institute of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Jamalpur. After graduation in Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, I started my career as an officer in eastern part of the country, in Railway divisions and workshops. Later, I held a number of important assignments in India and abroad over 38 years in Indian Railway Service (IRSME), gaining vast experience in Railway Projects, Railway operations, R&D & Technology and Rolling stock designs and manufacture. Some of the important assignments held by me are: General Manager, Integral Coach Factory (Chennai), Chief Mechanical Engineer, Rail Wheel Factory (Bangalore), Railway Advisor/Minister, Embassy of India, (Berlin, Germany), Divisional Rly. Manager (Bangalore), Executive Director/Motive Power, RDSO (Lucknow) and similar other senior managerial positions. I have independently handled a large number of locomotive technology projects at both domestic and international levels. I have interacted extensively with several global technology leaders such as Siemens, Alstom, Bombardier, CAF, ABB, GE, GM, Bosch, Knorr Bremse, Wabtec etc. It would not be an exaggeration to state that my experience in the field of Rolling stock engineering and technology is exceptional and unmatched. While working in the field of Railway operations, I was instrumental in initiating several passenger amenities at stations and in implementing environment management, afforestation and green energy. These measures are brought out in detail in a book co-authored by me, titled ‘Greening of a factory, verdant makeover of a factory and its habitat’. I signed off my career in Indian Railways with the turnout of Train 18, the first indigenous 180/160 km/h train set, now christened Vande Bharat express, designed and manufactured entirely through in-house effort of Integral Coach Factory. This train has caught the imagination of the country the first time that a rolling stock project of this magnitude was done from concept to manufacture entirely in India.

I have tried to be a versatile human being. I pioneered the Art movement, Safar, in the year 2011, which is being emulated all over IR today. The experiment is chronicled in a coffee-table book titled ‘Art and Railways, A Bangalore Saga’, co-authored by me with Ms. Lily Pandeya. I later continued this experiment in industrial settings as well and brought out my experiences in my 2nd book titled, ‘Reinventing the wheel, Another Bangalore saga’ and subsequently my third and fourth books on the experiences in art-related work at ICF, titled, ‘A skein of trains, recounting a Chennai story’ and ‘Trains unchained, the continuing saga of art and railways, the Safar’.

I am a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, London. I have published many articles in technical journals. I have some 500 RDSO publications to my credit covering technical reports, and specifications etc. I have delivered several talks and made presentations at reputed organizations and institutions in recent past, including IIMs, IITs, entrepreneur organizations, blue chip companies etc., mainly focussing on how culture, structure, environment and productivity related transformation can be brought about in a govt organization.

I am known among my friends and colleagues as a lover of art, theatre, comedy, rock music from the sixties & seventies and Urdu poetry. I am an avid reader and a keen sportsman. I am proficient in English, Hindi, Urdu, with working skill in German and Bangla. I am currently busy channelizing my vast expertise and experience constructively and meaningfully in any area which I find interesting.