A string of train accidents has exposed the callousness with which the Indian Railways is being run today. Negligence of staff and failure of equipment accounted for 69 per cent of the accidents in 2009-10, 61 per cent in 2010-11 and 64 per cent in 2011-12. Yet, Railways Minister Mukul Roy cannot be stirred into action.
On March 20, as Roy took over as the new minister, a major train accident near Hathras in Uttar Pradesh claimed 16 lives. In May this year, two major accidents - Hampi Express in the South and Doon Express in North - took place, prompting Roy to claim that he would talk to European firms for procuring and installing the Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) in rail engines. Nothing has been finalised yet.
Roy, like mentor and his Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee, prefers to operate from Kolkata. He is rarely seen in his office in Delhi.
“Since mid-2009, when the Trinamool Congress got the portfolio, most of the projects that have been cleared are for West Bengal. The Railway Board has given up doing serious work because of the ministers’ lethargy. There is absolute lawlessness,” a senior ministry official quipped.
Some months ago, Roy had rejected a report on safety commissioned by his predecessor Dinesh Trivedi. The Anil Kakodkar Safety Committee had suggested an investment of `20,000 crore on various signalling and upgrading work. Roy does not have the money to make it work.
The Railways’ experience of train protection systems has largely been limited to the Auxiliary Warning System (AWS) on suburban sections of Mumbai on the Western and Central Railways in the 1980s. This system is functional but technologically obsolete now.
The Kakodkar Committee had suggested introducing Automated Train Protection (ATP) systems to prevent collisions if drivers jump the red light. The panel had also suggested introducing fire alarm and smoke detection systems in trains.
That would require money, which the ministry is unwilling to spend. In all, 57 serious accidents occurred in the current financial year, as compared to 65 in the corresponding period last year. They include 23 incidents at unmanned level crossing gates in both the years.
During the last five years, over 500 new trains were introduced.
Also, the frequency of the existing ones was increased and more coaches per train were added to increase capacity. The result? The railway today lacks spare capacity.