Summary:
The launch of India’s new prestigious Vande Bharat express train service linking Goa to Mumbai was cancelled following Friday’s devastating train accident in the eastern state of Odisha that claimed over 275 lives. Government officials blamed the disaster on a reporting error caused by a failure of the “electronic interlock” system that regulates train movement between tracks. The tragedy raised fresh concerns about the country’s underinvestment in infrastructure and maintenance in previous years. India’s vast railway system, the world’s largest, has seen significant investment in the past decade, including capital investment of Rs 2.4tn ($29bn) for railway capital investment in the 2023-24 financial year. However, most of this investment has been directed towards new infrastructure and rolling stock rather than maintenance and track renewal, as well as staff capacity. Rail-related deaths in India remain staggeringly high as more than 16,000 people reportedly died in 2021 from falls from trains, platform accidents or other causes, although only about 100 of those died in derailments or collisions.
Additional Piece:
Friday’s train accident in India’s eastern state of Odisha has once again highlighted the critical deficiencies and gaps in India’s vast railway system. India’s railway system, which is the world’s largest, is responsible for transporting more than 22 million people daily and over 8 billion passengers annually, according to official government estimates. Yet compared to the country’s massive population and the sheer magnitude of its railway network, India manages to maintain a relatively low rate of rail accidents and collisions each year. However, Friday’s tragedy, which claimed over 275 lives, has once again exposed critical deficiencies in the country’s underinvestment in maintenance, staff capacity, and safety mechanisms.
In recent years, the Indian government has made considerable investments in railway infrastructure, including the electrification of its railway lines, which have more than doubled since 2014. This electrification enabled the Indian Railways to use modern signalling equipment, increasing the speed and safety of trains on its network. The Indian government has also increased its annual budget allocation for its rail network to record amounts, particularly towards safety upgrades. However, while significant advances and improvements have been made in recent years, these investments in infrastructure technology and safety mechanisms have not been matched by equal investment in railway maintenance, track renewal, and staff capacity.
Most of the government’s investment in railway infrastructure in recent years has been directed towards expanding and modernising the network’s capacity, rolling stock and signalling equipment. However, investment in maintenance, track renewal, and overburdened staff capacity has not been on the same scale. As a result, the system has become increasingly overstretched, risking a decline in the safety and reliability of its trains, as Friday’s tragic accident has again demonstrated.
Beyond the investments in infrastructure and safety improvements, the Indian Railways urgently needs to address the systemic issues that plague the system’s operations. One such issue is the culture of overwork and chronic understaffing among its railway staff, many of whom are overscheduled, underskilled, and disillusioned. Chronic staff shortages and a lack of staff training programmes can lead to poor service delivery and safety hazards, particularly during peak hours.
Moreover, despite the government’s investment in electrifying its railway network, some experts have criticised the need to invest in diesel engines, particularly given the initial capital costs and lengthy conversion timescales. Alternative viable options, such as hydrogen-powered trains, could also prove more sustainable and create job opportunities in regions that host manufacturing facilities.
Overall, the Indian Railways’ recent investments in infrastructure, technology, and safety mechanisms are undoubtedly welcome. However, the government needs to ensure that it implements more comprehensive measures that encompass all parts of the railway system, including maintenance and staff capacity. To achieve this, the government needs to work with all stakeholders, including rail unions and labor organisations, to develop comprehensive plans that factor in long-term vision, goals, investments, timelines, and risks. Only then can the Indian Railways improve its safety record, maintain its high standards of service, and ensure that it continues to meet the needs of millions of passengers daily.
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On Saturday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was due to signal via video link the first departure of a new Vande Bharat (“Salute to India”) express train service linking the western state of Goa to the commercial capital Mumbai.
However, the launch was canceled after India’s worst train disaster in decadesa three-train crash that killed at least 275 people and injured hundreds more on Friday in the eastern state of Odisha.
The Goa-Mumbai express, on the 19th in a prestigious fleet of Vande Bharat services with top speeds of 160km/h, it is a sign of increased investment and improved standards in the world’s largest railway system since Modi took office in 2014.
But as rescuers in Odisha pulled the dead and wounded from the mangled carriages, Friday’s disaster conjured up the darker past of a system previously plagued by underinvestment in infrastructure, maintenance and rolling stock.
The length of the electrified railway lines in India it has more than doubled since 2014, from 21,000 km to over 50,000 km in 2022. The proportion of lines electrified reached 65.8% in 2021, higher than France’s 60.3% and the UK’s 38%.
Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Minister of Railways and Modi ally known for handing out miniature Vande Bharat model trains at meetings, was scheduled to attend the inauguration of the new express at Goa’s Madgaon station. Instead, he went to the disaster site on Friday night to oversee the rescue efforts.
Vaishnaw said Sunday that the government’s initial findings suggested the Odisha incident was the as a result of a reporting error caused by a failure of the “electronic interlock” system, which helps regulate the movement of trains between tracks.
He called on India’s Central Bureau of Investigation, the country’s main law enforcement agency, to open a criminal investigation into the incident.
The disaster was India’s deadliest train crash since 1999, when nearly 300 people were killed in a crash in West Bengal.
Government safety data shows India has reduced the number of rail accidents since 1980. Accidents per million kilometers traveled fell to 0.05 in 2019, down from 2.2 in 1980 and 5.5 in 1961 .
But Modi’s opponents have seized on the disaster to accuse the government of trying to divert attention from its failure to invest in security mechanisms.
Mallikarjun Kharge, president of the Indian National Congress, the largest opposition party, wrote to Modi on Monday saying that “those responsible – herself and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw – do not want to admit that there are problems”.
“The CBI, or any other law enforcement agency, cannot establish accountability for technical, institutional and policy failures,” he added.
Official data shows India has invested record amounts in its rail network, including safety, in the years since Modi took office.
“Since the 1990s and 2000s, when India’s economy grew more steadily, Indian budgets looked much healthier and there was more money to spend on railways,” said Partha Mukhopadhyay, a researcher at the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi.
India’s budget for the 2023-24 financial year has earmarked Rs 2.4 trillion ($29 billion) for railway capital investment, 50 percent more than last year.
However, in some cases experts questioned whether New Delhi is investing in the right posts and suggested that improvements in railway staff capacity have not kept pace.
Capital investment data shows a large and persistent gap between what India spends on new lines and rolling stock and what it invests to maintain existing lines and renew tracks.
A new safety system launched last year to prevent collisions had not yet been introduced at the site of Friday’s accident.
Overall rail-related deaths in the world’s most populous country remain staggering. According to data provided by Indian states and territories, more than 16,000 people died in 2021 from falls from trains, platform accidents or other causes, although only about 100 of those died in derailments or collisions.
Swapnil Garg, a former railway official now at the Indian Institute of Management in Indore, said Friday’s crash highlighted flaws that have remained embedded in India’s railway system despite government investments in infrastructure and technology.
A major concern, he said, was that many of the railway staff responsible for safety were chronically overworked, underskilled and disillusioned.
“This is a transitional phase for Indian Railways,” Garg said. “While we move on the technical side – spending money, building new infrastructure – the human resources side is what we lack.”
https://www.ft.com/content/5f43408b-4a03-4745-a729-c3812c59ddbc
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