Amritsar train accident: 58 dead, 72 injured as train mows down crowd

On an average, over 45 people die every day on the rail tracks in the country

Over 58 persons have been killed and 72 injured after a train ran over a group of people during Dussehra celebrations in Amritsar’s Joda on Friday. 

This is not a one-off incident in the railways. According to statistics, over 45 people, on an average, die every day on the rail tracks in India. 
 

According to official railway figures, in the last three years (between 2015 and 2017), at least 49,790 persons lost their lives after being hit by trains. Friday's accident is considered to be the biggest such mishap in the recent past when the Nakodar to Jalandhar DMU train mowed down people watching the burning of a Ravana effigy. 

 

According to reports, at least 300 people were reportedly on the spot when the accident happened. The death toll may be higher.
 

Two such major accidents in the recent history of the railways were in 2013. The first one was on August 19, when the Saharsa–Patna Rajya Rani Superfast Express ran over passengers disembarking from another train at the Dhamara station in Bihar, killing 35 persons and the second one was on November 2 when the Alappuzha–Dhanbad Express ran over passengers of another train. The passengers had jumped onto the adjacent track due to a rumour that their train was on fire. The incident claimed 10 lives. 

 

The railways said that the reasons behind these deaths include trespassing, violating safety and cautionary instructions, avoiding over bridges and using mobile phones while crossing railway tracks. 
 

Fencing of tracks may not be a viable option as railways cover 67,312 kilometres across the country. Among the 16 railway zones, Northern Railway is the most affected by such deaths on tracks, claiming 7,908 lives, followed by Southern Railway with a toll of 6,149 in the last three years. Though railway zones have launched various awareness campaigns, they seem to be having no effect. 
 

Friday’s accident comes close on the heels of seven people getting killed on October 10, when the New Farakka Express derailed near Raebareli. In April 13, children were killed in Kushinagar after a train hit a school van. Critics claim that one of the major reasons for accidents may be staff crunch as the railways is yet to fill vacancies of around 1,41,000 safety staff. 
 

 

According to a source, minister of state Manoj Sinha, railway board chairman Ashwani Lohani and top officials have already rushed to Amritsar. 
 

After the Raebareli incident, the railways came out with numbers claiming that between 2014 and 2018, since the Narendra Modi government took charge, the number of train collisions came down by 52.4 per cent compared to the average per year figures between 2004 and 2014 of the UPA regime. It also claimed that annual derailments (down 25 per cent), fire (down 59 per cent), unmanned (down 54.3 per cent) and manned level crossing (down 44 per cent) accidents, too, fell during the last four years compared to the previous period.