The Odisha train accident, one of India’s deadliest train crashes, has now raised several questions on the safety measures carried by the Indian Railways. While the government has been taking a lot of measures to make train travel seamless and comfortable for its passengers, the deterioration of safety in trains has put Indian Railways in the spotlight again.
The tragic incident has also put spotlight on a 2022 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on the derailment incidents on rail tracks between April 2017 and March 2021. The report, which was tabled in the Parliament in December 2022, highlighted the shortcomings of the railways.
Here we break down the safety measures that should have been carried out by the Indian Railways, but as per the CAG report 2022, many shortfalls were recognised, putting a big question mark on the safety of the passengers.
1. Loopholes in Track Maintenance
Regular inspections of railway tracks should be conducted to identify and rectify any defects or issues that could affect train operations. Track maintenance is crucial for ensuring safe and smooth train movement.
The objective of Track Recording Cars (TRC) is to assess track geometry and track components. The report suggests that there was a shortfall of 30-100 per cent in inspecting structural and geometrical track condition by Track Recording Cars.
The report said that the TRC check was overdue by four months. Since the TRCs were not deployed, there was no checking of track parameters which put a spot on the overall safety of train operations including derailments.
There is also an in-built system for Track Management which is a web based application for tracking maintenance activities. The report said that it found the system to be non-operational.
2. Gap in Safety Inspections and Audits
Regular safety inspections and audits are conducted by railway officials and independent bodies to identify potential hazards, assess safety practices, and recommend improvements. These inspections cover various aspects such as rolling stock, infrastructure, and operational procedures.
According to the CAG 2022 report, the rails and welds should be routinely tested by ultrasonic testing procedures at the prescribed frequency as per the ultrasonic flaw detection (USFD) manual. However the audit scrutiny revealed that there were shortfalls in USFD testing between the period of 2017 and 2021.
In fact, the Northern Railway saw a shortfall of 50% in USFD testing, in response to which the administration said that it was due to prioritising testing of main line. The report found the reply of the Northern Railways as ‘not acceptable’.
3. Inadequate safety measures for field staff
Not many know this, but there is a ‘Rakshak’ device that is used as a safety device in the Indian Railways to enhance the security and safety of train operations. It is primarily designed to prevent accidents caused by unauthorized entry onto the railway tracks. The Rakshak device also provides additional features such as emergency communication, including voice communication between the train crew and the control room.
The CAG report suggested that each person of the railway staff on the field should have this device. Even the torch provided to them was found to be of poor quality and the GPS was not working properly either.
4. The worrisome number and cause of derailments
The report in its summary of conclusions suggested that a total of 422 derailments were the fault of the ‘Engineering Department’. The lack of track maintenance led to 171 cases of derailment and deviation of track parameters beyond permissible limits led to 156 cases.
The ‘Mechanical Department’ was attributed with a total of 182 cases. The report further quantified the number of accidents attributable to the ‘Loco Pilots’ which was 154. ‘Bad Driving/Over speeding’ was also one of the major factors responsible for derailments. The ‘Operating Department’ was attributed for 275 such cases. ‘Incorrect setting of points and other mistakes in shunting operations’ accounted for 84 per cent.