The unfortunate and tragic train accident that took place on Friday evening in Odisha’s Balasore district has once again highlighted the important issue of rail safety. The exact cause of the accident will be determined upon completion of the investigation, but preliminary findings indicate that one train collided with the derailed bogies of another, causing the accident involving several coaches.
Over the years, the Indian Railways has experienced an overall decline in consequential train accidents.
According to government statistics for 2010–11, the Indian Railways network recorded a total of 139 “resulting” train accidents, resulting in the deaths of 235 passengers. The number of such accidents reduced to 59 in 2018-19, but still resulted in the deaths of 16 passengers.
In 2019-20 and 2020-21, zero passenger fatalities were recorded despite 54 and 21 accidents, respectively. However, in 2021-22, a total of 35 ‘consequential’ train accidents took place, resulting in the unfortunate death of nine people. These figures do not include figures for Konkan Railway.
‘Consequential’ accidents as defined by the Railways are those which “have a serious effect in the form of loss of human life, injury, or damage to railway property…”.
Besides this, as per the available data, other important security indices indicated a positive trend.
Train accidents per million train kilometres, another important safety indicator, declined from 0.28 in 2005 to 0.5 in 2019-20 and further to 0.3 in 2020-21.
Another indicator of passenger safety, casualties per million passengers, has also shown a declining trend from 0.07 in 2016-17 to 0.03 in 2020-21.
These positive results have been achieved as a result of various challenging measures taken by the Railways to enhance the safety of the world’s fourth largest and Asia’s largest railway network.
Saving maximum human lives is one of the biggest achievements for Indian Railways, which runs more than 13,452 passenger trains and 9,141 freight trains daily from 7,318 stations across India.
There are several reasons for the low number of accidents on the Indian Railways network. Railway track, which is the most important safety component, is undergoing progressive modernisation. Old rails with fish-plated joints are being replaced with long-welded rails, and sleepers are being upgraded from wood and steel to PSC (normal/wider base) sleepers. Rail grinding machines, commonly used around the world, have also been introduced to extend rail life.
Defects and deficiencies in signaling are being fixed with modern signaling system comprising panel interlocking, route relay interlocking and electronic interlocking as well as multi-aspect color light signals for clear visibility in all weather conditions. Computer based Centralized Traffic Control System has been installed to manage rail traffic at many stations in real time.
The introduction of satellite linked Automatic Train Protection System is being implemented on a train-by-train basis. This system ensures that even if the locomotive pilot misses a signal, there will be no consequential accident apart from solving the issue of overspeeding. Kavach, India’s homemade system designed to prevent collisions between two trains, is currently being rolled out.
In addition, LHB coaches are being introduced on a large scale to replace the old ICFs. The technologically advanced LHB coaches are equipped with features like air suspension (secondary) with anti-climbing arrangement and failure indication system.
Further, in the Rail Budget 2016-17, the government announced ‘Mission Zero Accident’ with setting up of ‘National Rail Safety Fund’. The initiative aims to replace, refurbish and upgrade critical security assets with an allocation of Rs 1 lakh crore over a period of five years.
However, the collision of the Coromandel Express with a goods train and the derailment of the last four coaches of the Yesvantpur-Howrah train resulted in further questions on the efficacy of the current security arrangements.
The issue of train derailment is also a matter of concern because despite all the efforts, this remains the main reason behind train accidents.
From 2016-17 to 2021-22, there were at least 344 ‘consequence’ accidents on the Indian Railways network, and of these, 258 – or 75% of all accidents – were due to derailments.
According to ‘A Technical Guide on Derailments’ published by the Indian Railways in 1998, “derailments present a burning problem for the railways”.
“Unless the cause is clear, for example running of cattle, sudden fall of boulders, trees etc. on the track, sinking, breaking or washing away of the track etc., thoroughly investigate the role of the track and vehicle in causing the derailment necessary. ,” it mentions.
Further, based on the available data, the guide prepared by the Center for Advanced Maintenance Technology, Gwalior, reads: “Derailment statistics show that the most prominent causes are: failure of railway staff to check railway equipment properly; locomotives, rolling Inadequate maintenance of stock, track, signals etc. and other operational irregularities.
In many cases, derailments have been caused by cracks or fissures in train tracks, mostly due to extreme weather conditions. Where the track breaks due to linear expansion in summer, it does so due to contraction in winter.
However, at this juncture, when the full picture is still not clear, speculating would not be a prudent call.
This unfortunate accident has happened at a time when Indian Railways is continuously running semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express trains on a large scale.
Accidents not only damage the reputation of Indian Railways, but also raise concerns about the effectiveness of its operational procedures.
As a cheap and affordable means of transportation for millions of Indians, it has played an increasingly important role in India’s social and economic development. Its freight services serve as the backbone of the Indian economy. India cannot afford lax security protocols for its national rail carrier.