Burning trains

The death of 26 passengers in a fire in an air-conditioned coach of the Bangalore-Nanded Express  in Anantapur district on Saturday has again exposed the poor safety standards of the Indian Railways. 

Twenty-five people had died in another accident involving the Bangalore-bound Hampi Express in the same district last year. The number of accidents has been increasing though the railways have claimed that greater attention is being paid to the safety of passengers. The claims are not supported by improvements in infrastructure and installation of better safety systems. The Indian Railways have the worst safety record. The reasons may be different, like collisions, derailments, signalling problems and poor maintenance of coaches, track or equipment. But they all cause in different ways the major and minor accidents resulting in losses of lives and property.

Accidents caused by fire have multiplied in recent years. Last year, 32 passengers were killed in a fire in a compartment in the New Delhi-Chennai, Tamil Nadu Express. Short circuit in the electrical system is the usual reason for the fire and that shows poor maintenance of electrical systems and equipment. Electricians and air-condition mechanics in the railways have been complaining of bad working conditions. The railways have also failed to implement recommendations like installation of flame detection systems and changes in the design and type of fire extinguishers.

Emergency exit and evacuation arrangements are not efficient and convenient. Passengers get trapped in burning coaches without knowing what to do and precious time is lost by the time help arrives.  The high- level safety review committee, headed by Anil Kakodkar, had made a number of suggestions to prevent and handle fire accidents and mishaps of other kinds. But most of them have not been implemented.

The railways’ financial position is bad and the allocation for safety is much less than the requirement. But it has been noted that even the allotted funds are not fully utilised. A report by the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) had pointed out that the safety fund was under-utilised in recent years and in 2012-13 the unused portion was Rs 670 crore.

This amounts to lack of interest and even callousness. Those responsible are not always held accountable. There is need for changes in many respects if the safety record has to improve.