<b>Letters</b>: Sorry dichotomy

Rail fracture due to contraction of track in winter is identified as likely cause of accidents

The death of 60 people in the derailment of the Sealdah-Ajmer Express around 50 km from Kanpur comes just a month after the Patna-Indore Express derailment in which more than 150 people were killed and more than 200 injured. These accidents reflect the sorry dichotomy between the Indian Railways inability to run a safe, dependable and comfortable system and its ambition to operate bullet trains.
 
The railway minister said that an inquiry had been ordered. What purpose will it serve, if recommendations of the Anil Kakodar Committee are not implemented? “Rail fracture” due to contraction of track in winter has been identified as the likely cause of both the accidents. If this information is confirmed, it points to serious deficiency  in track  management.

S K Khosla   Chandigarh