Of late, Indian Railways (IR) has been in the news for a spurt in accidents. Catastrophes that claimed lives turn the public spotlight on the safety of IR as a transport provider. Between April and November 2024, a total of 29 consequential accidents (those that result in loss of lives or damage to railway property or cause disruptions and delays) resulted in the deaths of 17 people and injured 81. Although the public mind considers train accidents as results of human or/and technical failures, skewed policy-making and financial allocations also have a direct bearing on rail safety.
The forthcoming Union Budget session provides parliamentarians and the Government of India an opportunity to address these chronic issues and chart out a roadmap to enhance rail safety.
In this Policy Watch, A. Madhukumar Reddy, an Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officer, who retired as a Principal Executive Director, Railway Board, in charge of Coaching, the railways’ terminology for passenger operations, analyses the linkages that have deleterious consequences for rail safety. One underlying cause, he points out, is the changing priorities of IR, reflected by a move towards high-visibility projects and those that do not add much to its basic functions, at the cost of investments in safety. Others include issues relating to finances, upkeep of infrastructure, and workforce planning and training.
Among the ways forward, Mr. Reddy suggests de-bottlenecking and removing capacity constraints; avoiding high-cost, low-return projects such as the Vande Bharat services and re-channelising such investments into asset maintenance and safety funds; and filling up the large number of “safety category vacancies on a war-footing”. In addition to these “immediate requirements”, at a broader level, he calls for greater transparency and accountability; and flags the importance of presenting to Parliament an annual “Indian Railways Report” by the Minister of Railways (along the lines of the annual Economic Survey), a suggestion made by a former member of the Railway Board, to enable wider parliamentary and public discussion in the absence of a separate Railway Budget.
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