E-Paper
Panel had flagged track maintenance, need for safety official in Railway Board
Referring to the Railways’ reluctance to set up a safety-related post, the panel said, “Such an attitude reflects the Ministry’s unwillingness to relinquish age-old practices and procedures.”
Barely two weeks before the Utkal Express derailed killing more than 20 passengers, the railway ministry rejected a parliamentary panel’s suggestion to create a post for member (safety) in its Board, amid growing concern over delayed responses and compromises on safety.
The panel, in its latest report submitted August 3, had emphasised the need for such a post to sharpen focus on safety, and cautioned the Railway against its “attitude”.
Referring to the Railways’ reluctance to set up a safety-related post, the panel’s report said, “Such an attitude reflects the Ministry’s unwillingness to relinquish age-old practices and procedures.”
While the Railways maintained that safety is integral to all works of construction, certification, operation and maintenance of systems, and that each member is responsible for the respective part, the panel maintained that “a separate member for ‘safety’ would be able to exclusively focus on safety issues of Railways”.
Derailment was the second-highest reason for accidents and related casualties between 2003-04 and 2015-16. While tracks are the backbone of rail transportation, the panel observed that there are lapses in their maintenance.
“Ideally, out of the total track length of 1,14,907 km, 4,500 km should be renewed annually. However, only 2,700 km of track length were targeted to be renewed. It is evident that the targets kept for track renewals are not commensurate with the actual requirement on ground,” observed the panel.
Even as the railway ministry has cited shortage of funds for upgrading infrastructure, the shortage of staff, especially in the safety category, also haunts the railway.
In the Action Taken Report, the panel, headed by Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandopadhyay, expressed concern and even cited callousness in filling up vacancies in this section.
“The role of safety category staff is crucial in running of trains, especially in the present scenario where there is more threat perception, and the lack of staff directly affects their performance and consequently jeopardise safety of rail passengers and property,” the panel remarked.
