East Coast Railway to plug safety gaps after Hirakhand Express tragedy

The General Manager of East Coast Railway directed the Personnel Department to go in for expeditious filling up of the vacancies in safety categories.

The Hirakhand Express which was derailed at Kuneru railway station in Vizianagaram district on Saturday night. | Express File Photo

BHUBANESWAR: General Manager of East Coast Railway (ECOR) Umesh Singh on Monday directed the Personnel Department to go in for expeditious filling up of the vacancies in safety categories.
At least 40 per cent posts in guard, 30 percent in drivers and 20 percent in trackman categories are currently vacant. Such vacancies exert pressure on the existing staff.

Singh, who had rushed to the Hirakhand Express derailment site at Kuneru late on Saturday, took stock of various verticals here and instructed that the Personnel Department must coordinate with the Railway Board to fill up the posts at the earliest.

Singh has also asked all the divisions and department to go in for clear fixing of responsibility in all cases of mishaps. Even the smallest of the cases must not go without action initiated against those responsible. Sending a strong message, the GM directed that all the old disciplinary proceedings have to be finalised on priority basis.

''Besides, the GM has also directed that counselling of drivers and guards should be intensified,'' Chief Public Relations Officer JP Mishra said.

The ECoR chief has also directed that no train should go without a senior inspector and supervisor level officer travelling in the engine so that it bolsters morale of the loco driver and guards. While the GM, after taking over as chief of the ECoR zone, has travelled in the engine several times to take stock of the safety measures for foggy conditions, he has also advised that a roster be prepared of the officials who will accompany the loco operators without crowding the engines.

Similarly, it has been decided to standardise the helpline numbers so that in case of emergency, the contact numbers could just be activated. Mishra said such numbers would be pre-decided so that people are aware of their existence.

The divisions have also been asked to highlight system deficiencies which have been recorded in past incidents so that other divisions could take a cue from the same and ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated.

To minimise the mishaps, old inspection notes have also been reactivated so that divisional heads could go through the same and strengthen the system. Senior officers have also been asked to go on mandatory inspections at least twice a month so that alertness can be further improved.