The Hindu : Time for cautious running

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 04, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

Time for cautious running

THE INDIAN RAILWAYS is again in the news and once more for its derailments or accidents. Fourteen coaches of the Delhi-bound Magadh Express derailed on Sunday in the Danapur division of Bihar, a day after the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, passed through the same division in a special train. The derailment, in which one person was killed, raises serious concerns as preliminary reports point to the possibility of sabotage — there are reports that 4.7 metres of the rail were cut off using a hacksaw-blade, just outside the Barun station. Unfortunately, when an accident of this nature occurs in Bihar, there are always contradictory reports, one from the Railways and the other from the State Government, as the two seem to be at loggerheads thanks to the political divide there. In this instant case, the Railway officials have hinted at sabotage, but the State police are not convinced. They will conduct their own investigation, even as the Safety Commissioner began his inquiry on the spot. He will have to ascertain fast whether it was indeed a case of sabotage, or one of those `natural' disasters. The fact that a superfast Rajdhani Express had crossed the spot just ahead and that the Magadh Express had slowed down for the crossing and was just picking up speed (about 60 kmph) is enough to indicate how serious the tragedy could have been if the Rajdhani was involved, or even if this train was going in full steam. There was another derailment, of the Puttaparuthi Express in Andhra Pradesh, but that was not serious.

A more serious tragedy took place at the Dudhwa National Wildlife Sanctuary, near Lucknow. Three elephants were run over by a passenger train and another was badly injured as a herd strayed on to the tracks. A couple of months ago, another herd of elephants was run over by a train near Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu. In the latter case, the Railways could conveniently claim that the elephants slipped on to the tracks and that the driver could not control the train. But in Dudhwa park, the train was running inside the sanctuary and the onus was obviously on the crew. There has been a case for shifting this track out of the wildlife park and this is perhaps the moment for the State Government and the Railways to solve this problem without further delay. Just because a railway track is there and the Railways has the right of way, it cannot obviously apply the same rules or logic as the "unmanned level-crossing" to the track in a sanctuary.

Instead of taking up more projects and sinking scarce resources in unviable but politically expedient projects, the Railways will do well to concentrate on safety. The Rs. 17,000-crore special safety fund that the Railway Minister, Nitish Kumar, has been talking about for some time now, needs to be properly and judiciously utilised. Just as a task force can ensure timely accident relief, the Railway Board needs to make a professional and scientific assessment of the safety aspects and prioritise investments. There has to be a balanced evaluation of the utilisation of lines and the rolling stock, the maintenance requirements of the high-density routes, periodic replacement of ageing rails and coaches and a continuing orientation for the personnel on safety aspects. If derailments are a major concern and account for the largest number of accidents in the system, the authorities must go into the causes of these derailments and deal with them. This is where maintenance acquires significance. It is as important to run trains safely as it is to operate new trains or increase their speed. Safety has to be the first and last priority and if it involves disciplining the passengers when it comes to carrying stoves or explosives, there should be no compromise on it.

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