Alpo alpo megh theke halka bristi hoy / Chhotto chhotto golpo theke bhalobasa sristi hoy (Fluffy clouds lead to gentle rains/Love blossoms from tiny tales) reads one of the several pages of handwritten Bengali poems by an unknown passenger, discovered amid the mangled train coaches at the accident site in Balasore district. And like the gathering clouds that lead to a storm, it is the neglect of safety protocols that, bit by bit, culminate in a tragedy like the triple-train accident of June 2.
The incident at Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha involving three trains—the Coromandel Express, SMVT Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, and a freight train—left 288 passengers dead and over 1,000 injured. The initial assessment of an alleged criminal neglect of standard operating procedures (SOPs) was corroborated at the highest levels of the Indian Railways, including by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The Central Bureau of Investigation is currently investigating the matter.
Prima facie the accident appears to have occurred because the Coromandel Express entered a loop line—a section of track built to ease rail operations—and hit a stationary goods train. The derailed carriages of the Coromandel Express then hit the tail-end bogies of the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express that was passing on the down line. “The resulting triple accident is one of the rarest of the rare instances in rail transport,” avers safety expert Lalit Chandra Trivedi, who retired as General Manager of East Central Railways.
Others, however, view this as symptomatic of a larger issue. “Transportation-related accidents in India have a pattern with roots in systemic failure and the railways is also suffering with this problem,” an international rail safety expert tells BT requesting anonymity. The person mentions an incident a few years ago when a train derailment near New Delhi was caused after old rails were replaced with tracks that had been used at another railway yard! “Ultimately, it is about both a lack of robust safety design-instal-test process, enforcement, staff competency management and accountability.”
Filling up vacancies for engineering roles and putting technology adoption on the fast track are some ways to prevent a recurrence, say experts. “There has been no fresh induction of engineers through engineering services exams in the past few years,” notes another former railway official. “There needs to be enhanced focus on field inspections even while limiting time spent on meetings.”
Seasoned experts like Trivedi attribute the fatal crash to a combination of factors such as underinvestment in safety and the transition of the state-owned behemoth into an enterprise that is only now learning to work closely with the private sector. On the shortage of skilled staff, Trivedi says, “While the organisation is otherwise overstaffed, there is a shortage of personnel at a local level in critical areas of safety requiring specialised skills.” Similarly, signals and tracks don’t support speeds higher than 110 kmph, resulting in underutilisation of rolling stock capable of 160 kmph. Consequently, measures at providing 2x25 KV overhead equipment (OHE) cantilever, tracks capable of supporting semi-high-speed trains and implementation of the automatic train protection (ATP) systems such as the indigenously-developed Kavach end up looking half-hearted.
Experts also cite the slow adoption of cutting-edge technologies and a lack of structured R&D activities. “The multiple attempts at introducing technology in the railways haven’t progressed to satisfactory levels yet. That needs to be addressed on a war footing now as there is a lot to be done, especially with regard to Kavach and other proven technologies,” says a senior executive at a leading railway original equipment manufacturer.
In 2019, the government abruptly shelved the roll-out of the European Train Control System, where Bombardier had emerged as the lowest bidder for a deal that was potentially worth around Rs 1,500 crore. “Had it not been cancelled, its implementation would have helped the railways and passengers,” says the executive. Sources attribute this to a lack of finances and the hassle of adapting foreign technology to local conditions. “Discussions to give thrust to technology have been going on for over 10 years. It is a no-brainer, deploying technology in a brownfield environment is never easy but then ways have to be found,” says the executive.
“With all this equipment, maintenance and SOPs are very important. We have to ensure that these things are properly managed and there is not a single deviation,” says signalling expert Raviprakash Karcherla. While welcoming the increased spending on safety through initiatives like the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) with a Rs 1-lakh crore corpus, experts say the current pace of modernisation leaves a yawning gap. The government, meanwhile, has drawn flak after a 2021 Comptroller and Auditor General report alleged that a part of the RRSK funds was allegedly diverted to purchase foot massagers and crockery, develop gardens, build toilets, pay salaries and bonuses and erect a flag, among other things. “As safety is not an option, it must be embedded and enforced from the drawing board stage,” states the international safety expert.
There is another challenge. Over the years, the railways has been losing traffic to road transport for short distances and to airlines in the premium long-haul segment. But one of rail’s USPs is safety and convenience, especially for the elderly. “Accidents of this nature severely dent this perception. Apart from the obvious impact of the loss of lives, injuries, economic disruptions, etc., the impact of diversion of traffic to roads especially will have a higher longer-term impact on the Railways,” says Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Senior Director at CRISIL Market Intelligence.
The railways can arrest such a perception from taking hold by maintaining the highest safety standards. Perhaps it can learn a thing or two from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, which since FY15 has aggressively added air traffic controllers in the Airports Authority of India and additional personnel in regulatory bodies. Ironically, it is officials of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) that are appointed to the Civil Aviation Safety Agency for their expertise.
@manishpant22
