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Even as Indian Railways is gearing up to roll out high-speed passenger services, it seems set to record its worst performance in three years on accidents. Fresh data on safety show the number of accidents per million train km average 0.14 so far this financial year, higher than the numbers recorded in each of the past three years.
The ratio of the number of accidents to every million km covered by trains has declined from 0.29 in 2004-05 to 0.10 in 2013-14. But for the April-September period this year, the ratio stood at 0.14, according to a latest report. At current levels, FY15 will record the first annual rise in the ratio in a decade.
The 80 accidents in April-September this year include 40 derailments, 34 level-crossing accidents, three collisions and two cases of fire in coaches. Of the 56 accidents in the corresponding period last year, 26 related to derailments, 25 were level-crossing accidents, two were collisions and three related to fire.
Defending the railways’ performance, a senior railway ministry official said, “There might have been more accidents this year, but the number of deaths has come down.”
Recently, the railway ministry informed Parliament the total number of deaths related to train accidents had fallen from 115 in 2011-12 to 80 in 2012-13 and 54 in the last financial year.
Between April and September this year, 63 persons lost their lives in train accidents. The official quoted earlier said safety was accorded top priority in Indian railways, adding through the years, several steps had been taken to curb accidents and loss of lives.
Indian Railways has deployed anti-collision devices in Northeast Frontier Railway, one of its 16 zones; works have been awarded for their roll-out across other zones.
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Also, pilot projects are being implemented to install train protection warning systems and train collision avoidance systems.
While assuming charge last month, new Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had said safety and customer satisfaction were his priority areas.
For Prabhu, the task might be difficult, owing to inadequate appropriation to the depreciation reserve fund (DRF), used to fund replacement of old and ageing railway assets. In 2013-15, Railways appropriated Rs 6,700 crore to the DRF, 13 per cent less than the budgeted target.
In the previous financial year (2012-13), appropriation to DRF stood at Rs 7,050 crore, 28 per cent less than the budgeted Rs 9,710 crore, a point highlighted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in a scathing report on railway finances presented in Parliament last month.
The railways’ track record on utilisation of the safety fund, meant to finance safety schemes, is no different.
Last financial year, appropriation to the fund remained flat at Rs 1,104 crore.
Also, since 2010-11, the railways’ withdrawals from the fund have been more than the appropriations.
In 2013-14, a total of Rs 2,000 crore was withdrawn from the fund, against an appropriation of Rs 900 crore. Not surprisingly, the balance in the safety fund has depleted from Rs 2,417 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 787 crore in 2013-14.
