Safety cannot be measured in terms of cost. Even if a high price has to be paid for safety, it is worth it. Indian Railways, however, do not seem to appreciate this fact, as underlined by its inability to improve its safety system that is in a perilous condition. Though the Railways had initially attributed Tuesday’s accident in which Bangalore-bound Hampi Express collided with a standing goods train to human error, they have ordered an inquiry to find out whether the signalling system was in order or not. While the statutory inquiry, ordered every time an accident takes place, will pinpoint its cause, the accident highlights the need to strengthen the safety system.
Experts say that if the Railways had installed the Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS), the accident at Penukonda would not have happened. What the system, introduced in many Western countries, does is to apply the emergency brake once the driver jumps the red signal. In the instant case, the driver had overlooked the red signal, allowing the two trains to come on the same track resulting in a sure collision. A study has shown that out of 2,763 rail accidents that occurred over a decade, human error accounted for half of them. If the TPWS can avert accidents that occur due to human failure, that itself would considerably reduce the number of accidents and save the lives of hundreds of passengers.
What prevents the Railways from introducing it is the cost, which works out to `50 lakh per km of railway track. In India, which has the world’s third largest network of rail tracks, only 30 per cent has been modernised. Little surprise, India is at the 18th position in terms of having modernised tracks. If experts are certain that TPWS would prevent accidents and save lives, it should be introduced at any cost. Railway Minister Mukul Roy would do well to speed up the process of modernising the tracks so that the Indian Railways regain its image as one of the largest and safest railways.
