Lok Sabha Question No. 2829 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-06
Subject: Railway Track Breakage at Majri Junction
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Smt. Dhanorkar Pratibha Suresh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2829 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.08.2025

## RAILWAY TRACK BREAKAGE AT MAJRI JUNCTION

†2829.     SMT. DHANORKAR PRATIBHA SURESH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether timely reporting of an incident of a  railway  track breakage occurred at Majri Junction (Chandrapur Mahrashtra) under Chandrapur Lok Sabha constituency saved derailment of Raptisagar Express (Train No.12512);
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the immediate action taken by the Railway Administration thereon;
- (c) whether  the  track  breakage  was  caused  by  negligence  of  railway staff or due to the maintenance related issues or some technical reasons;
- (d) if so, the action taken against these responsible for the same;
- (e) the procedure followed for railway track maintenance in the Country at  present  and  the  future  plans  likely  to  be  formulated  to  prevent  such incidents; and
- (f) the  steps  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to  ensure the safety of passenger by conducting regular inspections of railway tracks and strengthening technical maintenance further?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (f) Inspection and maintenance of track are accorded utmost priority in Indian Railways. A well-defined system is stipulated in Indian Railways'

manuals,  wherein  schedules  for  inspection  by  various  authorities  and maintenance procedures are clearly prescribed.

During one of such scheduled inspections, a crack in the rail was noticed at Majri yard on 30.06.2025. Following the prescribed maintenance procedure,  corrective  action  was  taken  by  availing  a  traffic  block,  for which  train  no.  12512  (Raptisagar  express)  was  regulated  as  per  extant working rules.

Various  safety  measures  have  been  taken  over  the  years  on  Indian Railways. As a consequence, there has been a steep decline in the number of accidents. Consequential Train Accidents, which include collisions and derailments  also,  have  reduced  from  135  in  2014-15  to  31  in  2024-25  as shown in the graph below.

It  may be noted that the Consequential Train Accidents during the period 2004-14 was 1711 (average 171 per annum), which has declined to 31 in 2024-25 and further to 3 in 2025-26 (upto June) as depicted in the Graph below:-

<!-- image -->

The various safety measures taken to enhance safety in train operations are as under:-

1. On Indian Railways, the expenditure on Safety related activities has increased over the years as under:-
2. Electrical/Electronic Interlocking Systems with centralized operation of  points  and  signals  have  been  provided  at  6,635  stations  up  to 30.06.2025 to reduce accident due to human failure.

| Expenditure on Safety related activities (Rs. in Cr.)   | Expenditure on Safety related activities (Rs. in Cr.)   | Expenditure on Safety related activities (Rs. in Cr.)   | Expenditure on Safety related activities (Rs. in Cr.)   | Expenditure on Safety related activities (Rs. in Cr.)   | Expenditure on Safety related activities (Rs. in Cr.)   |
|---------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                         | 2013-14 (Act.)                                          | 2022-23 (Act.)                                          | 2023-24 (Act.)                                          | RE 2024-25                                              | BE 2025-26                                              |
| Maintenance of Permanent Way & Works                    | 9,172                                                   | 18,115                                                  | 20,322                                                  | 21,800                                                  | 23,316                                                  |
| Maintenance of Motive Power and Rolling Stock           | 14,796                                                  | 27,086                                                  | 30,864                                                  | 31,540                                                  | 30,666                                                  |
| Maintenance of Machines                                 | 5,406                                                   | 9,828                                                   | 10,772                                                  | 12,112                                                  | 12,880                                                  |
| Road Safety LCs and ROBs/ RUBs                          | 1,986                                                   | 5,347                                                   | 6,662                                                   | 8,184                                                   | 7,706                                                   |
| Track Renewals                                          | 4,985                                                   | 16,326                                                  | 17,850                                                  | 22,669                                                  | 22,800                                                  |
| Bridge Works                                            | 390                                                     | 1,050                                                   | 1,907                                                   | 2,130                                                   | 2,169                                                   |
| Signal & Telecom Works                                  | 905                                                     | 2,456                                                   | 3,751                                                   | 6,006                                                   | 6,800                                                   |
| Workshops Incl. PUs and Misc. expenditure on Safety     | 1,823                                                   | 7,119                                                   | 9,523                                                   | 9,581                                                   | 10,134                                                  |
| Total                                                   | 39,463                                                  | 87,327                                                  | 1,01,651                                                | 1,14,022                                                | 1,16,470                                                |

3. Interlocking of Level Crossing (LC) Gates has been provided at 11,096 level  Crossing  Gates  up  to  30.06.2025  for  enhancing  safety  at  LC gates.
4. Complete Track Circuiting of stations to enhance safety by verification of track occupancy by electrical means has been provided
3. at 6,640 stations up to 30.06.2025.
5. Kavach is a highly technology intensive system, which requires safety certification of highest order. Kavach was adopted as a National ATP system  in  July  2020.  Kavach  is  provided  progressively  in  phased manner. Kavach has already been deployed on 1,548 RKm on South Central Railway and North Central Railway. Presently, the work is in progress on Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors (approximately 3,000 RKm). Kavach has been successfully commissioned over KotaMathura section (Delhi -Mumbai route) covering 324 Route Kilometers on 30.07.2025.
6. 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.
7. System of disconnection and reconnection for S&T equipment as per protocol has been re-emphasized.
8. All locomotives are equipped with Vigilance Control Devices (VCD) to improve alertness of Loco Pilots.
9. Retro-reflective  sigma  boards  are  provided  on  the  mast  which  is located two OHE masts prior to the signals in electrified territories to alert  the  crew  about  the  signal  ahead  when  visibility  is  low  due  to foggy weather.
10. 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.

- 11.
- Modern  track  structure  consisting  of  60  kg,  90  Ultimate  Tensile Strength (UTS) rails, Prestressed Concrete Sleeper (PSC) Normal/Wide base  sleepers  with  elastic  fastening,  fan  shaped  layout  turnout  on PSC  sleepers,  Steel  Channel/H-beam  Sleepers  on  girder  bridges  is used while carrying out primary track renewals.
12. Mechanization of track laying activity through use of track machines
- like PQRS, TRT, T-28 etc. to reduce human errors.
13. Maximizing  supply  of  130  m/260  m  long  rail  panels  for  increasing progress  of  rail  renewal  and  avoiding  welding  of  joints,  thereby improving safety.
14. Ultrasonic Flaw Detection (USFD) testing of rails to detect flaws and timely removal of defective rails.
15. Laying of longer rails, minimizing the use of Alumino Thermic Welding and  adoption  of  better  welding  technology  for  rails  i.e.,  Flash  Butt Welding.
- Monitoring of track geometry by OMS (Oscillation Monitoring System)
16. and TRC (Track Recording Cars).
- 17.
- Patrolling of railway tracks to look out for weld/rail fractures.
18. The use of Thick Web Switches and Weldable CMS Crossing in turnout
- renewal works.
19. Inspections  at  regular  intervals  are  carried  out  to  monitor  and educate staff for observance of safe practices.
20. 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.
21. Detailed  instructions  on  issues  related  with  safety  of  Track,  e.g. integrated block, corridor block, worksite safety, monsoon precautions, etc. have been issued.

22. Preventive  maintenance  of  railway  assets  (Coaches  &  Wagons)  is undertaken to ensure safe train operations.
23. Replacement  of  conventional  ICF  design  coaches  with  LHB  design coaches is being done.
24. All  unmanned  level  crossings  (UMLCs)  on  Broad  Gauge  (BG)  route have been eliminated by January 2019.
25. 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.
26. Indian Railways has displayed Statutory 'Fire Notices' for widespread passenger  information  in  all  coaches.  Fire  posters  are  provided  in every coach so as to educate 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.
27. 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.
28. Regular counseling and training of staff is undertaken.
29. Concept of Rolling Block introduced in Indian Railways (Open Lines) General  Rules  vide  Gazette  notification  dated  30.11.2023,  wherein work  of  integrated  maintenance/  repair/  replacement  of  assets  is planned up to 52 weeks in advance on rolling basis and executed as per plan.

The  details  of  the  Safety  related  works  related  to  better  maintenance practices,  Technological  improvements,  better  infrastructure  and  rolling stock etc. undertaken by Railways are tabulated below:-

| S.N.                                    | Item                                                      | 2004-05 to 2013-14                      | 2014-15 to 2024- 25 (till March 25)              | 2014-25 Vs. 2004-14                     |
|-----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|
| Technological Improvements              | Technological Improvements                                | Technological Improvements              | Technological Improvements                       | Technological Improvements              |
| 1.                                      | Use of high-quality rails (60 Kg) (Km)                    | 57,450 Km                               | 1.43 Lakh Km                                     | More than 2 times                       |
| 2.                                      | Longer Rail Panels (260m) (Km)                            | 9,917 Km                                | 77,522 Km                                        | Nearly 8 times                          |
| 3.                                      | Electronic Interlocking (Stations)                        | 837 Stations                            | 3,691 Stations                                   | More than 4 times                       |
| 4.                                      | Fog Pass Safety Devices (Nos.)                            | As on 31.03.14: 90 Nos.                 | As on 31.03.25: 25,939                           | 288 times                               |
| 5.                                      | Thick Web Switches (Nos.)                                 | Nil                                     | 28,301 Nos.                                      |                                         |
| Better Maintenance Practices            | Better Maintenance Practices                              | Better Maintenance Practices            | Better Maintenance Practices                     | Better Maintenance Practices            |
| 1.                                      | Primary Rail Renewal (Track Km)                           | 32,260 Km                               | 49,941 Km                                        | 1.5 times                               |
| 2.                                      | USFD (Ultra Sonic Flaw detection) Testing of Welds (Nos.) | 79.43 Lakh                              | 2 Crore                                          | More than 2 times                       |
| 3.                                      | Weld failures (Nos.)                                      | In 2013-14: 3699 Nos.                   | In 2024-25: 370 Nos.                             | 90% reduction                           |
| 4.                                      | Rail fractures (Nos.)                                     | In 2013-14: 2548 Nos.                   | In 2024-25: 289 Nos.                             | More than 88% reduction                 |
| Better Infrastructure and Rolling Stock | Better Infrastructure and Rolling Stock                   | Better Infrastructure and Rolling Stock | Better Infrastructure and Rolling Stock          | Better Infrastructure and Rolling Stock |
| 1.                                      | New Track KM added (Track km)                             | 14,985 Km                               | 34,428 Km                                        | More than 2 times                       |
| 2.                                      | Flyovers(RoBs)/ Underpasses (RUBs) (Nos.)                 | 4,148 Nos.                              | 13,808 Nos.                                      | More than 3 times                       |
| 3.                                      | Unmanned Level crossings (nos.) on BG                     | As on 31.03.14: 8948                    | As on 31.03.24: Nil (All eliminated by 31.01.19) | Removed                                 |
| 4.                                      | Manufacture of LHB Coaches (Nos.)                         | 2,337 Nos.                              | 42,677                                           | More than 18 times                      |

*****