Lok Sabha Question No. 3537 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-01-02
Subject: Railway Safety
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE, SHIVAJI ADHALRAO PATIL, VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT, PRITAM GOPINATH MUNDE, Shrirang Appa Barne, ANANDRAO  ADSUL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3537 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.01.2019

## RAILWAY SAFETY

3537.  DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

SHRI ADHALRAO PATIL SHIVAJIRAO: SHRI VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT: DR. PRITAM GOPINATH MUNDE: SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE: SHRI ANANDRAO ADSUL:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state :

- (a)    whether  considering  the  various  train  accidents  reported  during  the last one year, the Government has made a big allocation to the railways for safety of the railway passengers;
- (b)  if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  is  considering  that  traditional  methods  of manual  railway  track  inspection  and  safety  has  become  outdated  in  the present scenario;
- (d)  if so, whether the Government proposes to consider the state-of-the-art and high tech. method of monitoring inspections and maintenance of the rail tracks;
- (e)   if so, the details thereof and the time by which the new technology will be made available and implemented in the Railways; and
- (f)      the  other  aspects  of  the  passengers  safety  that  are  likely  to  be covered under the present allocation for the railway safety?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

(SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

- (a) to (f) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (f)  OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3537 BY DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE, SHRI ADHALRAO PATIL SHIVAJIRAO, SHRI VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT, DR.  PRITAM  GOPINATH  MUNDE,  SHRI  SHRIRANG  APPA  BARNE  AND SHRI  ANANDRAO  ADSUL  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON 02.01.2019 REGARDING RAILWAY SAFETY.

(a)  &  (b)  :  Safety  has  always  been  accorded  highest  priority  by Railways.    Expenditure  on  safety  related  activities  forms  part  of  both Revenue and Capital segments of Budget. An expenditure of  ₹ 60,885 cr has been incurred in 2017-18 on safety related activities. In Budget Estimates 2018-19 outlay for such activities has been increased to ₹ 73,065 cr, as can be seen from the following table -

( ₹in cr)

| Period         |   Amount |
|----------------|----------|
| RE 2017-18     |    60827 |
| Actual 2017-18 |    60885 |
| BE 2018-19     |    73065 |

This  also  includes  expenditure  out  of  'Rashtriya  Rail  Sanraksha  Kosh (RRSK)' which has been introduced in 2017-18 for critical safety works, with a corpus of  ₹ 1 lakh cr to be utilised over a period of five years.

- (c) :   The traditional methods of manual Railway track inspection are very important to ensure safety of running trains and are not outdated in Indian social scenario.  However, IR has decided to adopt best available advance  technology  to  supplement  existing  inspections  and  reduce reliance on human interface in inspection.

(d)&(e) : Induction and proliferation of following new technologies have been decided for improved track inspection and monitoring:

- (i) Ground  Penetration  Radar  (GPR)  for  monitoring  health  of track ballast bed and   to prioritize deep screening of track.
- (ii) Axle Box Mounted Accelerometers on pilot basis in 40 rakes of fastest train on selected high density trunk routes to

monitor track requiring urgent attention and generate alerts on daily basis.

- (iii) High Speed  Cameras  for monitoring  Track  Components Condition through machine vision.
- (iv) Rail Grinding Machines with complementary Switch Grinding Machines to cover entire Indian Railway track for maintenance of rails to control fracture due to rolling contact fatigue.
- (v) Vehicular  Ultrasonic  Flaw  Detection  (USFD)  Self  Propelled Ultrasonic  Rail  Testing  Cars  (SPURT  Cars)  to  cover  entire Indian Railways network for monitoring and identifying propagation of rail/weld defects for improving safety of track.
- (vi) Integrated Track Recording Cars with facility of Component Monitoring  and  Clearance  measurement  System,  to  cover entire Indian Railway network.

a already

Implementation of new technologies over Indian Railways is continuous process. The works mentioned above are sanctioned.

(f) : Expenditure on safety has increased from  ₹ 30,661 cr in 2009-10 to ₹ 73,065 cr in 2018-19 (Budget Estimates).  RRSK has been introduced in  2017-18  for  financing  critical  safety  related  works  under  Capital segment of Budget with a corpus of  ₹ 1 lakh cr over a period of five years having an annual outlay of  ₹ 20,000 cr.  Funds under RRSK are deployed to finance identified works under Plan heads Track Renewal, Bridge  Works,  Signalling  &  Telecommunication  Works,  Road  Safety Works  of  Level  Crossing  and  Road  Over/Under  Bridges,  Rolling  Stock, Traffic  Facilities,  Electrical  Works,  Machinery  and  Plant,  Workshops, Passenger Amenities, Training/HRD and Other Specified Works.

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