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To cut cost, Railways derail govt plan to speed up trains
NEW DELHI: In a decision likely to hit the NDA government’s plans to increase train speeds, the Indian Railways have disbanded the Indian Railways Project Management
NEW DELHI: In a decision likely to hit the NDA government’s plans to increase train speeds, the Indian Railways have disbanded the Indian Railways Project Management Unit (IRPMU) – a centralised unit that was monitoring the execution of a project aimed at preventing head-on collisions.
Installation of the Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS), a technology aimed at preventing fatal railway accidents, has been mandated by the office of the chief commissioner of railway safety for operating trains at speeds of 160-km per hour or more. It automatically activates the brakes on trains that accidentally pass a red signal or travel over the stipulated speed limit.
The railway board – through a June 14 circular – ordered the merger of the IRPMU with the North Central Railway from July 1, instructing all officers/staffers to shift to the zonal headquarters at Allahabad within 15 days. The TPWS project will now be implemented separately by 17 zones of the Railways, the circular added.
It is speculated that the move was provoked by a desperate need to cut costs at a time when the state-owned transporter has been incurring substantial revenue losses. “The decision to scatter the activities on TPWS implementation will enable the Railways to delay spending on the capital-intensive plan in the current fiscal, when it is likely to confront the challenge of making substantial payouts for implementing the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission,” an official said.
Railway board member( engineering) AK Mittal disagreed, stating that the move would actually speed up execution of the project.
Around 3,000 passengers have died in railway-related accidents in India over the last ten years, and a big chunk of these deaths occurred due to head-on collisions.
