Don’t scrimp on train travel safety

While more Indians are travelling by air than ever before, more than 22 mn on an average still travel in 13,000-plus passenger trains daily. This means we can’t afford to be lax on safety. Monday’s disaster involving the Sealdah Kanchanjungha Express and a goods train in West Bengal shouldn’t have happened. The much-flaunted anti-collision system, Kavach, is currently operational on only 1,500-odd km of rail track, with plans to extend coverage by another 3,000 km by end-2024. Indian Railways has cited costs and practical challenges to ‘explain’ its limited operationality. In circa 2024 India, this ‘explanation’ no longer cuts ice. Ways must be found, like defence spend measures, not to scrimp when it comes to safety of rail passengers.

IR must expedite Kavach’s implementation across its entire 1 lakh-plus-km network. At the current rate of 1,500 km a year, or even with the proposed rate of 5,000 km a year by 2025-26, it will take years before the entire system can be protected. Kavach’s deployment is being handled by five companies. But manufacturing, deployment and maintenance capacity of Kavach is necessary to maintain the pace of deployment.

To achieve this, GoI must substantially increase the budgetary allocation this upcoming budget from ₹560 cr allocated in February. Collaborating with industry, GoI should also enhance availability of trained manpower needed to ensure effective deployment and maintenance of the system. Additionally, the Railway Board should reassess its order of priority to maximise safety during the deployment process. Currently, high-density routes are prioritised over highly-used ones, followed by passenger high-density routes. A more detailed approach within these categories needs to be taken.