The Railway Ministry on Wednesday appointed Ashwani Lohani as the new Chairman of Railway Board after AK Mital tendered his resignation following the derailment of Kaifiyat Express near Aurariya in Uttar Pradesh. An officer with the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME), Lohani currently is the Chairman & Managing Director of Air India. After completing his primary education in Kanpur, Lohani studied engineering at Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Jamalpur. Lohani featured in Limca Record in 2007 for having four "engineering degree equivalents" in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering and Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering from Institution of Engineers, India. Lohani also has his name registered in Guinness Book of World Records for successfully running the ‘Fairy Queen Express’ which is the world’s oldest working steam locomotive. In his illustrious career, Lohani has served as the Chief Mechanical Engineer, Divisional Railway Manager of Delhi, Northern Railway, Director, National Rail Museum, New Delhi, Director in the Ministry of Tourism Government of India, MD of Madhya Pradesh Tourism, and CMD of India Tourism Development Corporation.
