The nation is still recovering from the shock of the catastrophic train accident involving 12841 Coromandel Express, 12864 Visveswaraya Terminal-Howrah Express and a goods train at Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore district, Odisha, on June 2 which claimed nearly 300 lives.
This worst accident in the last 28 years has experts of all hues debating the cause of the accident and suggesting ways and means to eliminate the possibility of such a mishap in future.
They have rightly opined that a large part of the busy Indian Railways (IR) network is badly saturated with indiscriminate increase in the number of passenger trains due to political considerations. It follows that the pressure to run these trains punctually has pushed safety to the background and therefore, the number of trains should be reduced.
Perhaps, but that is not realistic as reducing passenger trains will have costly political consequences whereas IR with its rising Operating Ratio can hardly afford to cut down freight traffic.
Another concern raised loudly is the insubstantial culture of safety consciousness in IR. True, but rendering safety paramount over other issues including timely running of trains, calls for a transformational initiative which is a long-term exercise and there may not be any immediate gains. Yes, an administrative resolve to deal with instances of unsafe working with a heavy hand will definitely help.
Staffing issues
There is also a lament that IR has a huge number of vacancies which cause undue stress on existing employees rendering them susceptible to make mistakes. This is only partially true; understaffing in safety categories alone is important, not otherwise as other areas are open to efficient outsourcing. So, while vacancies in safety categories should be filled up post haste, improving skill of workmen shall help even more.
Another suggestion floating around is that till the infrastructure is thoroughly rehabilitated and upgraded, the speed of trains should be reduced such that the impact of train crashes is also weakened. Another similar narrative is about “Vande Bharat trains or safety?”. This argument is self-defeating and retrograde. The need is to induct proper technology to make our operations more amenable to higher speeds, with enhancement of safety and improvement in the capacity to run more trains.
Let me give two examples. The Train Collision Avoidance system (TCAS) or Kavach is an indigenous comprehensive signalling system at par with the systems in developed countries, like European Train Control system (Level II).
After some dilly-dallying between 2016 and 2021, the Railway Ministry now considers this to be the future Signalling system. This system not only makes train operation safer as it overrides the driver in case of any unsafe situation, it also helps to increase sectional capacity to run more trains as the signal aspects are communicated to the driver fairly well in advance.
Funds adequate
It costs far less than the imported ETCS (Level II) system and in any case, availability of resources is not a problem today with the Centre pumping substantial funds into IR. The situation is ripe for IR to expand its network at a much faster rate so that in less than a decade, most of the busy network would be better equipped for higher speeds with improved safety which would be inherent.
Another example is upgradation of track infrastructure including level crossings. Due to the Balasore tragedy it may appear out of place to mention it, but the reasons for IR’s safety record improving over the years has been that track works, its maintenance and elimination of unmanned level crossings, enjoyed greater focus. This has to be taken to the next level.
Track works should not involve merely changing over-aged rails but encompass renewal of complete track structure including sleepers with deep screening and provision of thick web switches. The speed of renewal should be increased such that the track is in good fettle with no backlog of rehabilitation. Provision of fencing should also be an essential part of this exercise.
As for level crossings, it is time to eliminate even manned crossings through grade separation. It may require IR to take the entire burden on its own without participation in funding from the State governments.
Such measures may not have the same visibility as launch of Vande Bharat trains or plans for swanky stations but political hype has to take a backseat in their favour. It would not only make IR safer but do so at higher average speeds of trains, which in turn would increase sectional capacities to run more trains.
The writer is Retd. GM, Indian Railways, and part of the team that created Train 18/Vande Bharat