ODISHA
TRAIN TRAGEDY
LESSONS
T
he Balasore Odisha train tragedy of June 2 raises some serious questions on rail safety systems, so say the experts. The media has turned its spotlight on rail safety with full force and many unsavory features of the Indian Railways stand exposed under public scrutiny, starting from the systematic underfunding of the railway safety fund and the slow rollout of rail safety mechanism 'Kavach', to the damming 2022 CAG report on train derailments and the sorry state of railway finances. Though safety cannot be separated from the normal functioning of running trains on schedule and the statutory enquiry would establish the exact cause, safety protocols act as a window to the overall effectiveness of the system. is an important facet of this huge organisation which employed 1,252 347 as of March 31, 2021 and whose this year's
The accident clearly brings out that the numbers of trains have now reached a level where the field staff is unable to carry out maintenance without cutting corners
budget was Rs 1.40 lakh crores. However, what goes unnoticed or gets scant attention is the cultural deficit that is the Indian mindset and its attitude towards safety. Take for instance the number of deaths caused due to accidental electrocution. It has risen from 11000 in 2011-12 to.
13,446 in 2020. India also leads the world in road fatalities. Over 1.5 lakh people men and women who work for the family and children who go to schools are victims on the road. In February this year, Sampark Kranti Express from Bengaluru to New Delhi avoided a head on collision with a stationary train on its tracks only because the alert engine driver saw the looming threat and applied the brake. The principal chief operations manager of South Central Railway had then submitted a report pointing out systemic flaws in the interlockingsystems, that the railways relies on to ensure that showing the green. signal to a train coincides with the switching of the points to let the train run on its intended track
Says Sarabjit Arjan Singh Retired General Manger Railways; "The Coromandel Express accident clearly brings out that the numbers of trains have now reached a level where the field staff are unable to carry out maintenance without cutting corners. For reasons yet to be established the panel interlocking system malfunctioned, which caused the Coromandel Express entering the loop line and colliding with a stabled goods train. Some of the derailed passenger coaches blocked the down main line just when Yashwantpur Howrah Express was speeding towards Howrah resulting in the second accident".
The panel interlocking system ensures and provides information to the driver that the track is clear of any obstructions and the route has been correctly set. Theoretically this system is supposed to be failsafe and there can be no difference between the direction indicated by the signal and the track's setting in fact theengine driver has to blindly follow the signal without a second thought. Herein lies the problem especially when it is dark during night time when he can have no visual confirmation. Nevertheless as Singh says that mismatches between tracks setting signaling are not unknown. They invariably happen when electronic signal maintainers (ESMS who in any case are overworked and are a harassed lot, because there are too few of them in the railways) and the station master have an informal understanding and carry out repairs without stopping trains. This is because the railways central control is very reluctant to agree to blocks.
In fairness one cannot but reemphasise that no railway employee comes to work to cause accidents; exactly opposite is the truth. However as Singh says that if personnel are not following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) it is more a reflection on the system than on the individuals, Mistakes are windows to how the whole system foioas or malfunction in ac practice This is attributable to say cos at the field level dintenancepersonnel who include officers are under tremendous pressure especially to ensure punctuality and completing maintenance tasks in time with available spare parts and machinery.
The present situation as Singh with his years of rail experience believes is due to the two organisation goals viz. Carrying more passengers by continuously adding trains even when sections are saturated; focusing on increasing train speed and punctuality. These goals make safety goals more difficult. There should be congruency of the three goals, a classic management dictum, which should be aimed at. Safety cannot be compromised at the expense of running more trains and increasing their speed, especially when there is a shortage of capacity to run existing trains. Singh advises that the number of trains must be brought down to what the system can handle. That is the only way, but unfortunately such a decision is unlikely to find favour with politicians of the ruling dispensation. Yet cutting corners in track maintenance, signaling and rolling stock isfraught with dangers as the recent accident proves - never be allowed. this should
What the railways and the railway ministry must do is to take a close hard look at the existing system and ask themselves whether to cut back on trains in saturated sections. And also to put for sometime at least punctuality on the backburner until the system can recoup its capacities. The authority at the highest level have to accept that time has to be given for maintenance systems to stabilize even at the cost of delaying trains.
And it is of utmost importance to restore a strong safety culture as is prevalent in airlines transportation. This needs to percolate down to the field level. It should be clearly understood that no unsafe condition should be allowed and repairs should be carried out promptly even at the cost of delaying or slowing down trains. This should be left in the hands of the supervisory staff who are authorised to certify tracks, elling stocks and signaling system are free from defects and their judgment and decision would be final. They must not be overruled as that would impinge on safety. Field inspections shouldbe an ongoing and a regular process as that is the only way of knowing whether all railway system are in optimum condition.
Also it goes without saying that focusing on technology alone is not enough. The organisation culture must be changed to match with technological upgrades as and when they are made. When it comes to ensuring safety as Singh says, the departments must work together as a group to solve all maintenance and technical problems. It also means that Railways must tell the key personnel directly related to safety that they needn't blindly follow orders. The organisation must support them in this regard. And organisation changes are also necessary that the railways do not function as collection of departments but a composite whole. If this is done train safety will improve dramcally.
Gleaming s ses and eight lane expresss certainly symbolise mode. But such modernity that leads to critical thinking, scientific advances and innovations that do not simply copy western advancements comes from rational individuals. Institutionalised safety, modern individualism and functional governance systems are so interfaced that they show progress on one side while regressing on the other. Group thinking, blaming the stars or fate for what befalls worldly mortals feed on contributes to India's callous attitude towards safety. What happened in Balasore is unfortunately a single point reflection of that. We have seen so often how trains are overcrowded and people sit on top of the trains to go from one place to another with absolutely no concern for their own and public safety. It's time we must collectively become more safety conscious.
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