The Hindu : Securing railway safety

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 14, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

Securing railway safety

THE DEMAND OF the Railway Ministry that the control of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) must not rest with the Civil Aviation Ministry makes complete sense. But whether it must come under the control of the Railway Ministry and become an adjunct to it remains a moot question. Given the increasing number of railway accidents — both serious and not-so-serious — the answer, it seems, lies somewhere in the middle. There can be no reason for the Aviation Ministry to retain control of the CRS and it may not add to the credibility of the Commission if it is reduced to a wing of the Railway Ministry. It may be argued that the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) functions independently of the Aviation Ministry and investigates into the accidents involving aircraft and there can be nothing wrong in the CRS discharging a similar function, even while being under the Railway Ministry. It may be time for the Government of India to take a serious look at the safety of both the airlines and the railways and find out if it may not be more useful to go in for a common, statutory body on the lines of the National Transportation and Safety Board that exists in other countries. It could be vested with full control over both the airlines and the railways, with the help of experts from all wings. Such an apex body could ensure the credibility of the entire process of safety and accountability of the major forms of public transport.

In a white paper on railway safety, the Railway Ministry has called for complete transparency in the CRS, emphasising the need to table its reports in Parliament, as soon as they are ready. It is a sad reflection that some enquiries have not been completed and the reports of some Commissioners have not been released. This defeats the very purpose of ordering the statutory inquiry into rail disasters. The point that the Railway Minister, Nitish Kumar, has been making is that the administrative control of the CRS must be brought under his Ministry and all its findings must be made public. Unfortunately, his Ministry would prefer the role of the CRS to remain `recommendatory' and not `mandatory'. That is why, it makes more sense to make such commissions independent and vest them with statutory powers so that they could go beyond mere investigation into serious accidents, involving loss of life and property. Unless proper corrective, follow-up action is taken on the reports of the CRS, the whole process becomes meaningless. It should not be reduced to a bureaucratic exercise to apportion blame and provide for the payment of compensation.

In the railway accidents, `human error', technical faults and sabotage, the Railways claim, have emerged as the major causes. When it comes to human error, it is quite often the driver or the station staff who are held responsible for either disregarding a signal, or not providing the right signal to an approaching train. The frequent head-on collisions or accidents where trains ram into stationary trains drive home this point on `failure'. But from the public viewpoint, the technical failures such as rail fractures or weak constructions like bridges assume greater significance. It has been pointed out in railway circles that quite often, very little time is available for preventive, maintenance work on the busy, congested sections. Unless the `line block' is available for a few hours every day, it may not be possible for the staff to carry out proper inspections and prevent rail fractures, that could lead to derailments. This is something that the Railways must look into and find solutions. Preventive maintenance holds the key to ensuring safety on the rails and the Ministry must press on with its ambitious plans of modernisation and technology upgradation within a time frame.

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