Another train mishap

A collision between two passenger trains on the Howrah-Chennai line in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh has claimed 14 lives. Earlier this month, four passengers were killed when Anand Vihar-Kamakhya North East Express derailed at Raghunathpur railway station in Bihar. It was in early June that at least 290 passengers were killed when Coromandel Express and two other trains had collided in Odisha’s Balasore district in one of India’s worst train disasters. The tragedy was seen as a wake-up call for the Railways to get its act together in terms of rail safety, but it seems that no lessons have been learnt.

In December last year, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had told the Rajya Sabha that the Railways had indigenously developed an automatic train protection system known as ‘Kavach’ to prevent accidents due to human error; the system was being implemented in a phased manner, he had added. Questions are being raised not only about the reliability of ‘Kavach’ but also the pace at which it is being installed on various routes across the country.

The launch of PSU-built Vande Bharat and Alstom-manufactured Namo Bharat trains has demonstrated the government’s commitment to modernising the Railways, but at the same time, the importance of foolproof safety measures cannot be overstated. Sleek and fast trains as well as spick-and-span railway stations do impress commuters and tourists. However, at the end of the day, all that they want is to reach their destination safely and comfortably. Upgrading of infrastructure and prompt removal of bottlenecks are a must. For every mishap, the probe should be completed in a time-bound manner, establishing the culpability of the erring officials. A lax approach to running the ‘nation’s lifeline’ is nothing but a recipe for one disaster after another.