Apropos the editorial, "Railways on notice" (September 18), I fully endorse the views expressed in it that safety, not bullet trains, need to be the priority. After Suresh Prabhu took over as Union railway minister last year, his report card has not been up to the mark if the large number of train accidents during his brief tenure is any indication. This also highlights the legitimate safety concerns of passengers. How then can we expect the Indian Railways to run bullet trains safely?
Neither exasperation by the railway minister over the spate of accidents nor the Railway Board chairman's proposed Rs 1 lakh crore safety plan will change anything unless the Indian Railways stops compromising with laid-down security norms and remaining indifferent to some of its basic infrastructural needs.
Several accidents took place due to glaring human errors. And yet there is no full-time member on the Railway Board to oversee rail traffic operations, the most vital aspect of which is rail safety. It's time to fix accountability. Merely ordering a formal enquiry each time an accident takes place won't do.
Further, use of outsourcing will not absolve the Railways of its duty to ensure safe, timely and hassle-free journeys for passengers.
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Neither exasperation by the railway minister over the spate of accidents nor the Railway Board chairman's proposed Rs 1 lakh crore safety plan will change anything unless the Indian Railways stops compromising with laid-down security norms and remaining indifferent to some of its basic infrastructural needs.
Several accidents took place due to glaring human errors. And yet there is no full-time member on the Railway Board to oversee rail traffic operations, the most vital aspect of which is rail safety. It's time to fix accountability. Merely ordering a formal enquiry each time an accident takes place won't do.
Further, use of outsourcing will not absolve the Railways of its duty to ensure safe, timely and hassle-free journeys for passengers.
S Kumar New Delhi
Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201
E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number