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.
