U. Subba Rao took charge as the General Manager of Southern Railway on August 1 in Chennai. He succeeds R.N. Singh, who superannuated on July 31.

Prior to this assignment, Mr. Rao was the General Manager of the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai.

An officer of the 1987 batch of the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME), Mr. Rao has held key leadership positions across various zonal railways and production units, according to Southern Railway.

Prior to his tenure as GM, ICF, he served as Additional GM and Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer of South Western Railway in Hubballi, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Salem division in Southern Railway, Chief Mechanical Engineer (Planning) of South Central Railway at Secunderabad, Chief Workshop Manager at the Coaching Workshop in Mysuru (SWR), and Chief Workshop Engineer at the Rail Wheel Factory, Bengaluru.

Known for his innovative approach at work and operational excellence, Mr. Rao, as Chief Workshop Engineer, played a pivotal role in achieving a record production of 2 lakh wheels in a single year (FY 2011-12) at Rail Wheel Factory, Bengaluru. Further, when he was the GM, ICF, the workshop received several prestigious national accolades, including the Best Production Unit Shield of Indian Railways, the Change Maker Award, the CII National Award, the Star Performer Award and the National Energy Conservation Award for Innovation.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a post-graduate degree in Public Policy and Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru. He has undergone advanced executive training, including the Senior Managers’ Programme in Paris and Johannesburg, and was actively involved in the validation of the EMU Cast Wheels Design at the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) in the USA.

He is a second-generation railway officer. His father, U. Narasimha Rao, retired as Chief Planning and Design Engineer from South Central Railway.

Published - August 01, 2026 03:24 pm IST