NEW DELHI: With the spurt in incidents of derailments in the past three months, Indian Railways has decided to put in place its own dedicated investigative agency and team of experts to strengthen investigations in train accident cases. The team will include technical experts from the Railway Ministry as well as outside.
A meeting of Railways officials, chaired by Railway Board Member Traffic Mohammed Jamshed, was held last week wherein the idea was discussed and it was decided that further consultations will be held to arrive at a structure of the proposed team.
At present, the train accidents are investigated by the Commission Railway Safety (CRS), which is under the Aviation Ministry. The move is also expected to bring down the deadline of investigation, which currently stands at around 30 days.
Three major accidents took place in the last three months, of which, the derailment of Indore-Patna Express near Kanpur in November last year was the worst wherein 150 passengers lost their lives in a single day. The Indian Railways has seen a rise in incidents of derailments in 2016. The year witnessed 68 such cases being reported, as compared to 65 in 2015.
“We are going to strengthen investigations by establishing a dedicated investigative agency with external experts. Besides, it has been decided that all accidents and fatalities that take place would be tracked henceforth,” said a Railway Ministry official.
It is also on the Railway Ministry’s agenda to expedite renewal of overdue tracks of 5,100 km and ensure absence of backlogs in future. Railways has admitted that due to financial constraints, the progress of track renewals had been intermittent in the last six years.
With the Railways being criticised for the increase in derailment incidents, it has been decided to upgrade the coaches to minimise train accident casualties.