I write to you about the regrettable ways in which railway safety is being compromised
despite repeated warnings on how this neglect can gravely impact the people of the country.
When the wounds of the Balasore train crash are yet to heal, the derailment of North East Express
today in Buxar District of Bihar came as another grim reminder of where the priorities of the
government are going wrong. Luxury trains are being introduced in a frenzy while the
infrastructure for the trains of the common people is being sorely forsaken.
Today’s tragedy has already claimed 6 lives and more than 100 are injured. The monetary
cost of the derailment is estimated to be above 50 crores. Fatalities from train related accidents
are over 23000 per year between 2010-2021 according to NCRB data. For 2021 alone, 88 collisions
and 21 derailments were reported. Despite these alarming numbers, the government engaged in
photo-ops and PR management instead of taking concrete measures. The Rashtriya Rail
Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) which was created with the aim of to clear the backlog of critical safety
and related works of the ministry, including track renewals, strengthening of bridges, and
signalling improvements among others remains critically unutilised. It is flagged by many
including the CAG that RRSK’s execution is lagging behind short deployment of funds has
defeated the objectives of improving railway safety. It is common knowledge that critical jobs
related to railway safety are being handled by outsourced or contractual workers reflecting poorly
on the seriousness of the government about the safety of citizens.
In this context, I urge you to realign the priorities of the railways towards the common
people. I also request you to sanction generous compensation to the kin of the victims of the Buxar
accident and to the injured. Those responsible for this tragedy should be brought to book and this
should serve as a delayed reminder that these mishaps should be prevented at any cost in future.
Comments