New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS): Indian Railways has improved a lot in the past few years, according to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. "In the past few years, Railways has shown improvement in its style of working," he said.

Addressing a virtual send-off event to mark retirement of 2,320 employees on July 31, Goyal said, "It's a day of happiness and sadness. Your contribution to make it a better railways and the role you played in making railways future-ready shall be remembered."

It was the first time that the Railways Minister interacted with the 2,320 officers and staff who superannuated on July 31. For the event, all the zones, divisions and production units were connected on a single platform.

Goyal said through freight, parcel and Shramik special trains the railways made best efforts to serve the nation during the Covid-19 pandemic. "Railway employees are no less than corona warriors. I would like to compliment the staff for putting best efforts during the fight against Covid-19," he said.

Stating that retirement is an intermediate station in one's life journey, Goyal said the later half of the journey could be more interesting if one decided to do something better and be the leader of transformation.

"If we spare some time and use our life experiences in the service of the nation, the future can be brighter. We may encourage the next generation in a better way and leave a better country for them," he said.

Referring to cleanliness, a small act, that resulted in a transformational change, Goyal urged the new retirees to continue to perform small acts that could bring discernible changes in society, like rain water harvesting, production of manure from wet waste, and thinking of innovative ways to increase farm production.