Indians are safer on the railways than ever before, thanks to well-thought-out initiatives of the past decade delivering significant results. This is particularly commendable given that no country transports more people by rail than India, which clocks over 1 lakh crore Passenger Kilometres (PKM) and around 685 crore passengers annually. The feat is unparalleled, even by our neighbour China, which barely transports half as many passengers (around 300 crore annually) despite its more extensive rail network and a comparable population size.
The remarkable improvements in safety are evidenced by a steep fall in the number of consequential train accidents – a key metric to identify serious incidents – declining from 473 in 2000-01 to just 40 in 2023-24. This progress is through focused efforts to improve tracks, eliminating unmanned level crossings, regularly monitor health of bridges, and digitising stations, among others.
These achievements become even more impressive when considering the number of passengers and the track length involved. On an average day, over 2 crore people travel across an expansive 70,000 Route Kilometre (RKM) - long network. The number reaches 3 crore per day in peak season, creating yet another world record!
This effectively means that India securely transports nearly 2% of its population on railways each day, compared to only 0.58% in China and 0.09% in the United States.
Despite a nearly impeccable safety record, railway accidents are a sobering reality the world over. While the ideal for any railroad system is zero accident since inception, no major network has achieved it. Australian Railways with just a fourth of the Indian Railways (IR) network recorded 52 derailments in fiscal 2022-23. Similarly, the USA’s railways network of 2,60,000 track kilometre (TKM), nearly double IR, registered 1,300 derailments the same year. The 2,00,000 TKM European Union network (1.5 times IR) saw 1568 accidents in 2022.
Like its peers, IR too recorded derailments, but the incidents are far lower at 137 during 2022-23.
These numbers are a testament to stellar safety performance of IR compared to developed nations despite years of languishing at sub-optimal levels of capital expenditure, crippling red tape, politicisation and corruption. But the muck from malpractices spanning decades of yesteryears cannot be washed away in a term or two of great governance.
While IR uses a mixed traffic model, many railways overseas use different tracks for freight and passenger trains. This means the probability of railway passenger safety being severely compromised is much higher for each accident in India.
Immediately addressing the core reason for accidents and achieving a derailment free railway network is of utmost importance. This will take significant technological initiative to reduce human interface and improve systemic reliabilities.
Prioritising passenger safety is underscored by over Rs 1 lakh crore investment in safety-related projects during 2023-24, with plans of even higher spend in the current fiscal. This means improved maintenance of trains, bridges, tracks, and signalling systems, as well as better road safety near tracks through construction of over- and under- bridges.
The Number of Accident per Million Train Kilometre (APMTK), an index of railway safety performance, has decreased from 0.65 in 2000-01 to 0.03 in 2023-24. This is a commendable outcome of enhanced track upkeep using modern, state-of-the-art track maintenance and renewal machines. There is also improved track flaw detection, curbs on rail weld failures, and a host of additional measures, including advanced technology to minimize human errors.
A mix of technological interventions and targeted training has been adopted to sustain and improve these outcomes.
Deployment of modern track maintenance machines is up from 700 during 2013-14 to 1,667 this year, bettering track upkeep. Rail grinding is also implemented across the entire network to further enhance asset reliability.
Continuous track patrolling is now undertaken to deter miscreant activities and address issues like vandalism, tampering with tracks, and placing foreign objects on the tracks, all of which pose serious safety risks to train operations.
A cornerstone of the safety initiative is increasing the number of GPS-based Fog Pass device to loco pilots for helping navigate fog-prone areas, blighted by poor visibility. There are now 21,742 GPS-based Fog Pass devices compared to just 90 in 2014-15.
Vigilance Control Devices (VCDs), which boost pilot alertness, have been installed in all locomotives. Their numbers increased from less than 10,000 in 2013-14 to 16,021 today. Advanced Signalling Systems, such as Panel Interlocking, Route Relay Interlocking, and Electronic Interlocking have been provided at over 99% of the 6,637 stations on broad-gauge routes.
In addition, loco-pilots now undergo simulator-based training (simulating field experience) to enhance driving skills and reaction times, while front line staff receives training in fire-fighting. Overall, over 6 lakh Railway employees underwent various types of training, initial, promotional, refresher, and specialized, among others, during 2023-24.
Beyond human safety, Indian Railways is also addressing wildlife and livestock protection by erecting 6,433 kilometres (kms) of fencing along tracks in 2024-25. Of these, 1,396 kms are complete as of August 2024, bringing down cattle collisions on these routes.
To supplement these measures, there has also been a shift to far safer Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) coaches, which have superior crash-worthy features. These reduce chances of derailments and injury to occupants through coaches designed to avoid climbing over each other in a collision. LHB coaches are built for safe operation at speeds up to 160 kilometres per hour. Their production has increased substantially with 4,977 LHB coaches manufactured in 2023-24, more than double the 2,467 produced in 2013-14.
While the initiatives are laudable, the government must ensure its efforts to make travel safer do not lose steam. Indian Railways is already the most secure mode of transport, but it will become even safer in the future.