MADURAI: Condemning the union government for the Odisha train accident, Madurai MP S Venkatesan said only 65 Kavach instruments have been installed for the 13,000 train engines under the Indian Railways.
"If the instrument was fixed in the Coromandel Express, the accident could have been prevented. One of the suggestions made during the parliamentary committee meeting last year was to fix 'Kavach' in all the engines," said the MP.
In a press statement, Venkatesan said a statement from the railways cited signalling error for the train accident. "Former Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu had released a white paper in 2017. He said nearly 4,500 km of track have been damaged.
However, the railways have been doing track maintenance for 2000-2500 km since then. He had also mentioned there is a possibility of causing accidents at any time in the damaged track. Similarly, the Railway's Task Force committee stated in its report that nearly 200 signals are damaged every year. But, only 100 signals were renewed," he added.
Venkatesan sought the appointment of a one-man commission to inquire into the matter and invest in Railways to ensure safety of the passengers.