New Delhi:Train accidents remain a major concern, and given their increasing rate, despite technological advancements, the travellers are indeed undergoing a never before crisis of confidence. Shortly after taking office, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu launched a 'Zero Accident Mission', where he said,“New advances in command, control and communication systems can play a very vital role in evolving safe and secure operation environment on Indian Railways where there should be no scope for accidents even in case of human errors.”
But, these have proved to be mere hollow words. Increasing number of train incidents have brought the focuses on flaws within the Indian Railways as reports reveal train derailment leading the cause of major train accidents in last decade in India.These incidents have brought the focus on safety issues which Indian Railways has been grappling with.
While the number of train accidents has significantly reduced in the last 10 years, derailments have gone up. The proportion of derailments in the total accidents was 75%in 2016-17, the highest in 10 years.
Earlier, on 11th August 2017, a BJP RajyaSabha MP from Gujarat, asked Railway Minister to provide details of the of train accidents in the last two years and the loss of lives in these mishaps. Thereafter, the government informed the house that 122 persons were killed in train accidents in 2015-16 and 238 persons killed in 2016-17.
This list of major railway accidents in 2017,depict a more horrific reality:
1. Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express derailment, Aug 29, 2017
Five coaches and the engine of Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express derailed in Maharashtra's Titwala. Although, none of the passengers was injured but this is notably the third major rail accident in the last 10 days, the previous one being the derailment of Kaifiyat Express on August 23.
2. Derailment of Kaifiyat Express on Aug 23, 2017
On 23 August, 2017, a train derailment brought in more flak for the Railways. At least 70 people were injured when nine coaches of the Delhi-bound Kaifiyat Express derailed in Auraiya, Uttar Pradesh. The train, travelling from Azamgarh to Delhi, collided with a dumper around 3am between Pata and Achalda railway stations.
3. Utkal Express derailment, Aug 18, 2017
Fourteen coaches of the Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express derailed in Khatauli, Muzaffarnagar. 23 people were killed and over 200 injured in an accident that could have been averted. This was the eighth major accident for the Indian Railways this year.
4. Meerut-LucknowRajya Rani Express derailment, April 15, 2017
Eight coaches of the Rajya Rani Express derailed near Rampur, the mishap occurred two kilometres from Rampur Junction railway station and about 100 metres from the Kosi river bridge, which resulted in injuries to approx 10 passengers and rail traffic disruption.UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced Rs 50,000 compensation to those seriously injured and Rs 25,000 to people with minor injuries.
5. Goods train derailment in West Bengal, April 9, 2017
The engine of a goods train derailed between Madpur and Jakpur stations in West Bengal. The derailment had affected train services. However, there was no casualty.
6. Mahakaushal Express derailment, March 30, 2017
A total of 52 passengers were injured when the Mahakaushal Express derailed in Uttar Pradesh. The train, which runs between Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh and HazratNizamuddin in Delhi, derailed near Kulpahar station.
7. Train rams into ambulance in Bengaluru, March 17, 2017
Four women were killed when a passenger train rammed into an ambulance at an unmanned level crossing at Mannekote-Talaka road in Karnataka's Chitradurga district. The ambulance driver misjudged the speed of the approaching train and tried to cross the unmanned level crossing.
8. Ujjain train blast, March 3, 2017
Eight people were injured, in an explosion in the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train near Jabdi station in Madhya Pradesh. The state government had called it a terrorist attack.It was stated to be the first-ever strike in India by the so-called Islamic State.
9. Kalindi Express derailment, Feb 20, 2017
The engine and the three coaches of the Delhi-bound Kalindi Express were derailed at the Tundla Junction in Uttar Pradesh.The accident occurred when the Kalindi Express which runs between Kanpur Central in the state and Bhiwani in Haryana collided head-on with the goods train approaching on the same track.
10. Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express derailment, Jan 22, 2017
Twenty-seven people were killed and 36 others were injured when nine coaches of the express train derailed in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh
‘Excessive traffic’ and ‘Underinvestment in rail infrastructure’are the main factors for derailments, according to a study. There have been 350 rail accidents under the tenure of Suresh Prabhu, in the last three years. However, the political leadership is more interested in changing names of historic stations such as Mughal Sarai, than ensure the tracks are safe, the security briefs are in place, procedures have been adhered to. The “inadequate performance” of the Indian Railways has seen commensurate blame game from the leadership, the ticket prices sky-rocketing, while no benefits really trickling down to the ordinary passengers.
References:
www.thequint.com
www.dailyo.in
http://zeenews.india.com
www.news18.com