With no deaths in last 11 months, 2019-20 emerges as safest year for Indian Railways

The Indian Railways has claimed that it has registered its best-ever safety record in the current financial year with no deaths due to accidents reported in the last 11 months.

A host of safety measures have taken by it to improve maintenance of tracks, signaling system, safety training to staffs, use of modern technology have resulted in 2019-20 emerged as the safest year for railways, said the national transporter.

From April 1, 2019 to February 24, 2020, there was no fatality of any railway passenger in any consequential railway accident, said the railways in its statement.

"The remarkable feat has been achieved for the first time in the year 2019-20 since introduction of railway system in India 166 years ago in the year 1853. The zero passenger fatalities in the last 11 months is a result of continuous efforts by Indian Railways to improve safety performance in all respects," the statement said.

The railways had introduced Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) in 2017-18 with a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore to be spent in the next five years, having an annual outlay of Rs 20,000 crore. With this fund, it has been possible to undertake very critical safety works of urgent nature and the results are evident," the statement said.

For the past five years, the national transporter invested heavily on the renewal of railway tracks, stringent monitoring of safety aspects, switching over to modern and safer LHB coaches in phases from the conventional ICF coaches, it said.