Addressing safety issues a priority for Railways? No, official data reveals

Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani urged officers to maintain the "safety culture" of the railways

Thirty per cent of corrective actions suggested by officers regarding safety in railways have remained unaddressed in the last eight months, according to official data.

Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani has now instructed all general managers and divisional railway managers to take immediate measures to stop such "unsafe practises" to achieve the prime objective of safe transportation of passengers and freight.

According to a compliance report on safety related deficiencies during March-October 2017, out of the 5,070 deficiencies reported as on November 27, only 70 per cent were addressed.

The data showed that five per cent of the deficiencies were pending beyond three months which could lead to safety hazards.

Lohani urged officers to maintain the "safety culture" of the railways.

"Safety department monitors implementation of rules/guidelines... Deficiencies pointed out by the safety department during inspections need to be monitored for immediate corrective action to achieve prime objective of safe transportation of passengers and freight," he said in a letter.

It also highlighted that while Central Railways with headquarters in Mumbai had the highest compliance rate with 93.5 per cent, it was just 50 per cent in North Central Railway headquartered in Allahabad, 54.5 per cent in East Central Railway in Hajipur and around 55 per cent in Eastern Railway in Kolkata.