What does India need to do to make its railways safer? | In Focus podcast

In Focus by The Hindu

Earlier this month a train accident in West Bengal killed 10 people and injured over 40. This comes just a year after the devastating multi-train collision that killed 275 people in Odisha last year.

Railway accidents have decreased significantly over the past decade -- only 0.03 accidents took place per million km in both 2020-21 and 2021-22. But this number loses meaning in light of the numbers of lives lost in rail accidents over the past couple of years.

After a train accident, there’s almost always several things that happen – human error or signal malfunctions are blamed, there is talk about the deployment of Kavach, India’s own automatic train protection system, and there is talk about whether the government is spending enough on safety and maintenance of the railway system, even as big ticket railway projects are unveiled.

The Indian Railways moves a staggering 24 million passengers a day. What are the safety challenges it is currently encountering? What is the status on the deployment of Kavach and why is it taking so long? Are lower-level staff disproportionately blamed for accidents while responsibility should rest elsewhere? What is India’s safety track record and what can be done to improve it?

Guest: Sudhanshu Mani is Retired General Manager/Indian Railways, Leader of Train 18/Vande Bharat project and independent rail consultant

Host: Zubeda Hamid

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian.