For now, it is critical that the tragedy prompts the Railways to shine an unsparing light within.
With at least nine people having lost their lives, the collision involving the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express and a goods train in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district has registered the highest toll in a railway accident since Balasore, Odisha last year. Initial reports point towards the possibility of human error, but the precise cause of the crash will only be known after the investigation by the Commissioner of Railways Safety is complete. For now, it is critical that the tragedy prompts the Railways to shine an unsparing light within.
It must investigate why accidents happen, and precious lives are lost, in a system that has, over the years, shown improvement across safety parameters. Kavach, an indigenously developed, automatic train protection system, has been deployed on 1,465 route km and 139 locomotives on South Central Railway as on February 2024. Kavach tenders have also been awarded for several thousand route kilometers. Reportedly, the railway ministry took steps in the aftermath of the Balasore train accident to remove obstacles in carrying out work in safety areas like signalling and interlocking. But it must be asked whether more steps need to be taken, and more urgency shown, for a faster Kavach roll-out. While funding now appears to be less of a constraint — in 2023-24, the capital outlay of Indian Railways was pegged at Rs 2.4 lakh crore, nine times the outlay in 2013-14 — it must be asked if there has been a disproportionate political and policy focus on the more eye-catching aspects of modernisation such as Vande Bharat, and whether it is taking a toll on other critical aspects of the system. There are other questions too. Are the communication and feedback mechanisms that are central to operational safety functional and robust? Will responsibility for such accidents be fixed in a system that all too often finds ways to dilute it?
fcolumn Over the same period, the number of derailments has also fallen from 350 to 36. The accident in West Bengal, and the toll it has taken, however, underlines that much more needs to be done. As it transports millions of passengers and tonnes of cargo across the length and breadth of the country every day, the Indian Railways is an integral part of the country’s logistical frame. Upgrading infrastructure would mean little unless it translates to greater safety for those who travel. But safety is not an isolated aspect. It is embedded in every function and operation of the Railways. Improving it calls for a more encompassing and comprehensive approach.
