Goyal flags off project to put rail safety back on track

NEW DELHI: With three trains, including Rajdhani Express jumping off the track in a single day, pressure will mount on railways to go back to basics and take immediate steps for regular maintenance and upgradation of tracks while slashing the number of trains on busy routes to ensure time for urgent repairs.
Rail minister Piyush Goyal held a special meeting to identify measures to reduce derailments.He directed officials to ensure safety and said track renewal should be accorded priority. But the real issue was reflected in a reply by the chairman of railway board (CRB) to Parliament’s railway convention committee which submitted its report on August 10. The CRB said, “…maintenance remains a constraint, particularly on high density routes, and there is no sufficient time.”
The derailment of Utkal express near Muzzafarnagar in UP which killed 223 people was because maintenance staff took up the work without permission after they were denied a ‘block’ due to heavy traffic. Top railways officials hope completion of a dedicated freight corridor and additional lines on busy routes will ease the pressure. “Can the national transporter risk people’s lives till then?” asked an official. Physical track maintenance involves around two lakh trackmen and gangmen who carry 15kg of equipment and walk a 5-km stretch checking for defects. Highly educated staff, like those with MBA and BTech, join such posts to secure a ‘government job’. “They are not ready to work in the field, but vie for postings in officers’ bungalows,” said an official. Another official said inspection and maintenance works suffer as staff rush to attend requests regarding cleanliness of coach or toilets made on Twitter as it is tagged to the PMO or rail minister.