The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : NO COMPROMISE ON SAFETY

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 16, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

NO COMPROMISE ON SAFETY

THE HEAD-ON COLLISION of the Jammu Tawi Express and the Jalandhar-Pathankot diesel multiple unit passenger train in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab will rank among the more avoidable human-made railway tragedies of recent years. That it should have happened just before noon and the station authorities on either side let the two trains run on the same track makes it unforgivable. It is unfortunate that the outdated manual `paper line clearance' system was at work, the block instrument signalling system having developed a snag on Monday. With the personnel in charge of signals at the Chak Kalan and Bangar stations having a lot of explaining to do, the Railway administration has taken the right step in booking a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Human error is acknowledged to be the largest single cause of railway accidents. In this case, aside from the error or negligence by station authorities who gave the signal for both trains, it is a great pity neither of the drivers sighted the other in time to avert the tragedy.

Safety has always been a major concern of the Indian Railways and the Punjab accident should serve to heighten it. While there appears to be prompt action in cases of "human failure," transgressions at the top and failure of equipment rarely bring serious corrective responses. The calamity in Khanna (also in Punjab), which claimed 210 lives in 1998, is a case in point. There are disturbing reports about the Railway Ministry's reluctance to initiate action on the basis of the Garg Commission's findings on Khanna. The question is: were the mandated norms and parameters relating to the standard of rails relaxed, and if the answer is yes, did that lowering of the bar result in the tragedy? The Garg Commission has virtually indicted the Track Directorate of the Railways for procuring substandard rails, relaxing the norms for hydrogen content, which could have resulted in the "rail fracture" and the catastrophe.

Hydrogen flaking and excessive residual stress in rails can lead to rail fractures and the Garg Commission has found that the Steel Authority of India (SAIL), which supplies the rails, was repeatedly asked to go in for vacuum degassing and on-line ultrasonic testing of rails at the manufacturing stage itself to prevent fractures. The Commission's report, as published in this newspaper, has held: "The accident occurred primarily on account of failure of material. I would hold the Railways Directorate of Track Procurement to be primarily responsible for not ensuring production of quality rails, for granting relaxation in the production of rails steel and rails, and for not making available USFD machines for a long time to the field staff." The Commission has highlighted the fact that after repeated relaxations of the hydrogen rating, this dispensation was withdrawn in the wake of the Khanna accident. If the practice was considered safe and correct, why was it withdrawn after the disaster? At a time when the Indian Railways are implementing a massive Rs. 17,000 crore safety programme, the Railway Ministry seems to be in a defensive if not denial mode. The Commission's report has to be tabled in Parliament by January 15, 2005, along with an Action Taken Report (ATR). Since there is time till then, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad should intervene and ensure that the Railway Board takes the right decision on this controversy and ensure safety on the rails.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News Update

Stories in this Section

NO COMPROMISE ON SAFETY

MYANMAR'S MANOEUVRE

Attracting FDI, Chilean style

NGO success in Darfur

Using oil as a lever against U.S.

Criminal negligence

Transcendental music