In Madhya Pradesh a train goes off track every two months

BHOPAL: Train derailments seem to have become the norm at

West Central Railway

(WCR) zone.

A reply received from the WCR under the

Right to Information Act

has revealed that on an average a train derails in every two months in this railway zone. Replying to a query made by Satna-based RTI activist Mukesh Pandey, railway authorities has informed that from 2004 and 2016 a total of 67 incidents of train derailments have taken place in the WCR zone. The WCR zone was constituted in the year.

"There had been far too many incidents of train derailments and I even sought reports of the investigations that were carried out, but the railways shied away from providing documents. I have made an appeal with the appellate authority in this regard," said Pandey.

"It is an issue of safety since a large number of people commute in the trains. There should be complete transparency and action should be taken against those who are found guilty," Pandey said.

"In cases of derailment, probe is conducted by appropriate agencies and its progress is monitored at various levels. If anyone is found guilty, appropriate action is taken as per the norms prescribed. Even there are norms that decide the duration in which such an inquiry should be completed,"

Surendra Yadav

, the central public relations officer of WCR told TOI.

Sources in the railways, however, say that in some cases the probe is delayed due to the legal processes involved and in some cases the problem lies with the technical aspects and not due to human error, like in a case of derailment that took place in Singrauli district.

The wheel of a wagon got cracked and it was a manufacturing error.