Fewer mishaps but Rlys toll deadlier

Indian Railways’ accident record lower than most European countries but in terms of fatalities, it tops the list

Why do so many Indians die in train accidents if the Railways’ safety record is only getting better?

This is the question that crops up every time a train accident is reported in the media. It may be noted that railway minister Suresh Prabhu had recently hinted at quitting after two accidents — including the Kalinga Utkal derailment that claimed over 20 lives — occurred within a span of just five days.

The Indian Railways logged just 0.20 mishaps through 2012, in terms of accidents per million train kilometres.

This is better than what many developed countries, including Sweden, Belgium, Austria and Finland, can boast of. France and Netherlands scored better, but marginally.

The figures, as it turns out, conceal more than they reveal. In terms of rail fatalities, India has the ironic distinction of being on the top of the heap.

HT found that as many as 3,029 fatalities were reported from India between 1999 and 2009, as compared to 623 deaths witnessed across Canada, America and the UK in the 10-year period of 2001-11.

Japan hasn’t recorded a single passenger’s death in the last 50 years.

Officials ascribe the deaths to the sheer volume of railway traffic — running 19,000 trains across a network of 64,500km to transport 23 million passengers each day — they are forced to handle.

But Canada, which has a railway network that’s only marginally smaller than that of India, reported just four passenger deaths between 2001 and 2011.

The United States, which has a network that’s nearly four times larger, witnessed 571 passenger deaths in the same period, while the United Kingdom recorded 48.

If anything, the Indian Railways’ record of passenger fatalities has only worsened in recent times. According to data journalism website IndiaSpend, 333 people died in train derailments alone in the last three years.

“The numbers (accidents per

million train kilometre) mean nothing. The Indian Railways are actually in a very bad condition. The rolling stock maintenance is poor; signalling systems are antiquated; modern rail technology has not come in at the required pace,” said Professor NS Vyas, who heads the Technology Mission of the Indian Railways.

His analysis is not off the mark. Technological mechanisms to prevent collisions, such as the train collision avoidance system and anti-collision devices still remain at the pilot project stage. Ultrasonic flaw detection devices, meant to check track defects, are not available in adequate numbers in the Railways’ inventory.

Just 2,000km of railway tracks are renewed every year, instead of the required 4,500km.

“Technology infusion is important, but the bigger need is to restore confidence in the Railways’ operating system... The Railways needs to go back to the basics, and start following operating guidelines and manuals stringently,” said former Railway Board member R Jaruhar.

KL Thapar of the Asian institute of Transport said a mindset change was urgently required. “Besides that, they need to undertake a series of steps — such as infusion of capital, adoption of new technologies, replacement of aged assets and focus on maintenance and operations — to make things right,” he added.