Lok Sabha Question No. 3437 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-09
Subject: Shortage of Safety Staff
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Ritesh Pandey

## 3437.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3437 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.08.2023

## SHORTAGE OF SAFETY STAFF SHRI RITESH PANDEY:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  vacant  positions  for  railway  safety  staff  in  the country, department-wise;
- (b) the  steps  taken  by  the  Railways  to  address  the  severe shortage of safety personnel in the Indian Railways;
- (c) whether the Railways has any plans to ensure the safety and security  of  passengers  given  the  significant  deficiency  in railway safety staff;
- (d) if  so,  the  corrective  measures  likely  to  be  undertaken  to expedite  the  recruitment  process  and  fill  these  vacancies promptly;
- (e) whether any time line has been fixed for the completion of the recruitment process to ensure adequate railway safety staff is in place without further delay; and
- (f) if so, the details in this regard?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (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. 3437 BY SHRI RITESH PANDEY TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 09.08.2023 REGARDING SHORTAGE OF SAFETY STAFF

(a) : The  details  of  vacancies  in  Operational  Safety  Categories, department-wise on Indian Railways as on 01.07.2023 are appended as annexure - I.

(b) to (f) : Occurrence  and  filling  up  of  vacancies  are  continuous process on Indian Railways considering its size, spatial distribution and criticality of operation. The vacancies are filled up primarily by placement of indents by Railways with Recruitment agencies as per operational requirements.

A  massive  recruitment  exercise  has  been  completed  recently  for empanelling  1,39,050  candidates  by  conducting  Computer  Based Test (CBT) of approximately 2.37 crore candidates.

CBT for Centralized Employment Notification (CEN) 01/2019 for NonTechnical Popular Categories (NTPC) was conducted for 1.26 crore candidates  in  133  shifts  in  68  days  across  211  cities  and  726 centres  in  15  languages.  Similarly,  CBT  for  CEN-RRC  01/2019 (Level-1) was conducted for 1.11 crore candidates in 99 shifts in 33 days across 191 cities and 551 centres in 15 languages.

During period from 01.04.2022 till  30.06.2023, 1,36,773 candidates have  been  empanelled  against  various  Group  'C'  posts  (including Level 1). This includes 1,11,728*  safety category posts.

Details of measures taken for safety and security of passengers are appended as annexure - II.

* Provisional

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APPENDIX - I REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3437 BY SHRI RITESH PANDEY TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK  SABHA  ON  09.08.2023  REGARDING  SHORTAGE  OF  SAFETY STAFF

| Department                           |   VAC |
|--------------------------------------|-------|
| Civil Engineering                    |  2266 |
| Electrical                           | 17129 |
| Mechanical                           |  1421 |
| Signal & Telecommunication           |  3638 |
| Traffic & Transportation (Operating) | 28724 |
| Total                                | 53178 |

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APPENDIX  -  II  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (b)  TO  (f)  OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3437 BY SHRI RITESH PANDEY TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 09.08.2023 REGARDING SHORTAGE OF SAFETY STAFF

1. Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) has been introduced in 2017-18 for replacement/renewal/upgradation of critical safety assets, with a corpus of `1 lakh crore for five years. From 201718 till 2021-22, a Gross expenditure of Rs. 1.08 lakh crore was incurred on RRSK works.
2. Electrical/Electronic Interlocking Systems with centralized operation  of  points  and  signals  have  been  provided  at  6427 stations  upto  31.05.2023  to  eliminate  accident  due  to  human failure.
3. Interlocking of Level Crossing (LC) Gates has been provided at 11093  level  Crossing  Gates  up  to  31.05.2023  for  enhancing safety at LC gates.
4. Complete  Track  Circuiting  of  stations  to  enhance  safety  for verification  of  track  occupancy  by  electrical  means  has  been provided at 6377 stations upto 31.05.2023.
5. Detailed instructions on issues related with safety of Signalling e.g. mandatory correspondence check, alteration work protocol,  preparation  of  completion  drawing,  etc.  have  been issued.
6. System of disconnection and reconnection for S&T equipment as per protocol has been re-emphasized.
7. All  locomotives  are  equipped  with  Vigilance  Control  Devices (VCD) to ensure alertness of Loco Pilots.
8. Retro-reflective sigma boards are provided on the mast which is  located  two  OHE  masts  prior  to  the  signals  in  electrified territories  to  warn  the  crew  about  the  signal  ahead  when visibility is low due to foggy weather.
9. A GPS based Fog Safety Device (FSD) is provided to loco pilots in  fog  affected  areas  which  enables  loco  pilots  to  know  the distance  of the  approaching  landmarks  like  signals,  level crossing gates etc.
10. Modern track structure consisting of 60kg, 90 Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) rails, Prestressed Concrete Sleeper (PSC) Normal/Wide  base  sleepers  with  elastic  fastening,  fanshaped layout turnout on PSC sleepers, Steel Channel/H-beam Sleepers on  girder  bridges  is  used  while  carrying  out  primary  track renewals.
11. Mechanisation  of  track  laying  activity  through  use  of  track machines like PQRS, TRT, T-28 etc to reduce human errors.
12. Maximizing supply of 130m/260m long rail panels for increasing progress of rail renewal and avoiding welding of joints, thereby ensuring safety.
13. Laying  of  longer  rails,  minimizing  the  use  of  Alumino  Thermic Welding and adoption of better welding technology for rails i.e. Flash Butt Welding.
14. Monitoring  of  track  geometry  by  OMS  (Oscillation  Monitoring System) and TRC (Track Recording Cars).
15. Patrolling of railway tracks to look out for weld/rail fractures.
16. The use of Thick Web Switches and Weldable CMS Crossing in turnout renewal works.
17. Inspections at regular intervals are carried out to monitor and educate staff for observance of safe practices.
18. Web based online monitoring system of track assets viz. Track database  and  decision  support  system  has  been  adopted  to decide  rationalized  maintenance  requirement  and  optimize inputs.
19. Detailed instructions on issues related with safety of Track e.g. integrated  block,  corridor  block,  worksite  safety,  monsoon precautions etc. have been issued.
20. Preventive maintenance of railway assets (Coaches & Wagons) is  undertaken  to  ensure  safe  train  operations  and  to  keep  a check on Rail Accidents across the country.
21. Replacement  of  conventional  ICF  design  coaches  with  LHB design coaches is being done.
22. All  unmanned  level  crossings  (UMLCs)  on  Broad  Gauge  (BG) route have been eliminated by January 2019.
23. Safety of Railway Bridges is ensured through regular inspection of Bridges. The requirement of repair/rehabilitation of  Bridges  is  taken  up  based  upon  the  conditions  assessed during these inspections.
24. Indian  Railways  has  displayed  Statutory  'Fire  Notices'  for widespread passenger information in all coaches. Fire posters are provided in every coach  so as to inform and alert passengers regarding various Do's and Don'ts to prevent fire. These include messages regarding not carrying any inflammable material, explosives, prohibition of smoking inside the coaches, penalties etc.
25. Production Units are providing Fire detection and suppression system  in  newly  manufactured  Power  Cars  and  Pantry  Cars, Fire  and  Smoke  detection  system  in  newly  manufactured coaches. Progressive fitment of the same in existing coaches is also underway by Zonal Railways in a phased manner.
26. Regular counselling and training of staff is undertaken.
27.  Concept of Rolling Block introduced wherein work of maintenance/repair/replacement is planned for 2 weeks  in advance on rolling basis and executed as per plan.
28. On vulnerable and identified routes/sections, trains are escorted by  Railway  Protection  Force  in  addition  to  trains  escorted  by Government Railway Police of different States daily.
29.  For  immediate  assistance  passengers  can  make  complaint  on Rail  Madad  Portal  directly  or  through  Helpline  Number  139 (integrated with National Emergency No. 112).
30.  Railway  are  regular  touch  with  passengers  through  various social  media  platforms  viz.  twitter,  facebook,  koo  etc.  to address their security concern.
31.  Frequent  announcements  are  made  through  Public  Address System  to  educate  passengers  to  take  precautions  against theft, snatching, drugging etc.
32.  Surveillance  is  kept  through  CCTV  cameras  provided  in  7264 coaches  in  trains  and  866  Railway  stations  for  enhanced security of passengers.
33. Under  'Meri Saheli' initiative,  focused  attention  has  been provided  for  safety  and  security  of  lady  passengers  travelling alone  by  long  distance  trains  for  their  entire  journey  i.e.  from originating station to destination station.
34.  Zonal  railways  have  been  instructed  for  deployment  of  proper combined  strength  of  male  &  female  RPF/RPSF  personnel  in train escort parties, to the extent possible.
35. State Level Security Committee of Railways (SLSCR) have been constituted for all State/Union Territories under the Chairmanship of respective Director General of Police/Commissioner of States/Union Territories for regular monitoring and review of security arrangements of the Railways.

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