362 people, including 11 railway personnel, were killed in 152 accidents since April 2021: Govt

NEW DELHI: The railway ministry informed Rajya Sabha on Friday that 362 people, including 11 railway personnel, were killed in 152 consequential accidents since April 2021, and 958 injured.
A consequential train accident is one that has serious consequences, such as loss of life, injuries, damage to railway property, and disruption of rail traffic.
However, the ministry also said due to various safety measures taken over the past 10 years, there has been a steep decline in the number of accidents from 135 in 2014-15 to 40 in 2023-24. “The causes of these accidents broadly include track defects, loco/ coach defects, equipment failures, human errors etc... the consequential train accidents during 2004-14 was 1,711 (average 171 per annum), which has declined to 678 during the period 2014-24 (average 68 per annum), a reduction of 60 %,” it said.
In another reply, the ministry said there were 17 instances of miscreants placing cylinders, iron rods and cement blocks on rail tracks during Aug to Oct. It added that in one of these instances, a case has been filed in court, while 16 others are being investigated.