BHUBANESWAR: Even as the report of the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) on the Odisha train tragedy has not been made public in view of the ongoing CBI probe, the CAG in its latest audit has flagged glaring safety issues due to a lack of inspections and track maintenance in East Coast Railway (ECoR) that oversees rail operations in the state.
As per the Indian Railway permanent way manual (IRPWM), the broad gauge routes should be monitored by track recording cars (TRCs) regularly, but the audit analysis revealed that there were shortfalls in inspections due to adverse internal resource position. The shortfall in inspection was around 63 per cent between 2017 and 2021 in ECoR - among the highest in the zonal railways in the country. Of the 32 inspections due during the period, only 12 were done. The shortfall in TRC inspections had adverse consequences on the quality of assets with implications on the safe operation of trains. There was also a shortage of manpower required for the maintenance of tracks. The audit indicated that required steps were not taken for adequate staffing in the safety category, which impacted the quality of maintenance.
The CAG analysis revealed, testing in rails and welds, which is supposed to be carried out by senior section engineers and supervised by assistant divisional engineer and senior divisional engineer, was never conducted in ECoR during the period. The ratio of track length to number of inspections was one of the poorest in the ECoR zone as only 10 inspections were conducted for 2,800 km track in the four-year period by the higher authorities with a ratio of 1120:1. While not a single inspection was carried out in 2020-21, four each were conducted in 2017-18 and 2018-19 and two in 2019-20.
Similarly, in respect of track renewal works, the maximum shortfall of 52.04 per cent and 63.10 per cent was noticed in the Waltair division of ECoR in 2017-18 and 2019-20, respectively. Of the 1,698 non-AC passenger coaches, 718 coaches were without fire extinguishers and it was due to the laxity on the part of railway administration.
The audit pointed out the special fund Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh, created in 2017 to improve railway safety, was misused to buy furniture, utensils, crockery, computers and printers, foot massager, develop passenger amenities like lifts and escalators besides the works in staff quarters and officers rest house.
The ECoR has spent Rs 3.37 crore from the safety fund for passenger amenities, Rs 15 lakh for staff quarters and officers’ rest house, Rs 10 lakh for computers and printers, Rs 5 lakh for furniture and utensils and Rs 6 lakh for others like ACs, foot massager and winter jackets.