Lok Sabha Question No. 476 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-06
Subject: Measures to prevent Derailment of Trains
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: A. Ganeshamurthi, Andimuthu Raja, Kunwar Danish Ali, Ravneet Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 476 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.12.2023

## MEASURES TO PREVENT DERAILMENT OF TRAINS

476.   SHRI A. GANESHAMURTHI:

SHRI A. RAJA:

KUNWAR DANISH ALI:

SHRI RAVNEET SINGH BITTU:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of Railway personnel as well as passengers killed and injured due to  derailments,  collisions,  fires  mishaps  at  level-crossings  and  other  rail accidents during the last five years and the current year particularly in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Balasore and Buxar;

- (b) the causes of each accident according to the preliminary report;

- (c) whether  the final report from Railway Safety  Commissioner  has  been submitted in each of these cases and if not, the time by which it will be done;

- (d) the  number  of  pending  cases  of  compensation  to  be  paid  to  the  families  of victims  and  the  number  of  cases  settled  along  with  the  amount  paid  as compensation by Railways during the said period, zone-wise;

- (e) whether effective steps have been taken to expedite disposal of such pending cases and if so, the details thereof; and

- (f) whether the Government has conducted any inquiry to look into the possible reasons for the rise of train derailment incidents and if so, the details thereof?

## 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 476 BY SHRI A. GANESHAMURTHI,  SHRI A. RAJA,  KUNWAR DANISH ALI AND  SHRI RAVNEET SINGH BITTU TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 06.12.2023 REGARDING MEASURES TO PREVENT DERAILMENT OF TRAINS

(a) to (f): During the period from 2014-15 to 2023-24 (upto 31 st  October, 2023),  total  748  persons  lost  their  lives  and  2050  were  injured  in consequential train accidents whereas during the period from 2004-05 to 2013-14, 904 persons lost their lives and 2831 were injured.

Consequential train accidents have declined over the years, as shown by the graph below:-

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Safety is accorded the highest priority. The following measures have been taken by the Government to enhance safety in train operations:

1. Rashtriya  Rail  Sanraksha  Kosh  (RRSK)  has  been  introduced  in 2017-18  for  replacement/renewal/upgradation  of  critical  safety assets, with a corpus of Rs. 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.  In  2022-23,  the  Govt.  extended  the currency  of  RRSK  for  another  period  of  five  years  with  Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) of Rs. 45,000 crores.
2. Electrical/Electronic Interlocking Systems with centralized operation  of  points  and  signals  have  been  provided  at  6498 stations  upto  31.10.2023  to  eliminate  accident  due  to  human failure.
3. Interlocking  of  Level  Crossing  (LC)  Gates  has  been  provided  at 11137 level Crossing Gates up to 31.10.2023 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 6548 stations upto 31.10.2023.
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
10. 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).
16. 15.
17. Patrolling of railway tracks to look out for weld/rail fractures.
16. The  use  of  Thick  Web  Switches  and  Weldable  CMS  Crossing  in
19. 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  in  Indian  Railways  (Open Lines) General Rules vide gazetted  notification dated 30.11.2023, wherein work of maintenance/repair/replacement is planned for 52 weeks in advance on rolling basis and executed as per plan.

During the last five years and the current year, 42 consequential train accidents have occurred wherein the Railway personnel as well as the passengers had lost their lives and were injured. The causes of these accidents broadly include track defects, Loco/Coach defects, equipment failures, human errors etc.

The final report from Railway Safety Commissioner has been submitted in all cases, except three cases, for which the final report from Railway Safety Commissioner has not been received as yet. The Commissioner of Railway Safety is an independent statutory authority who works under the control of Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Each and every train accident is inquired into either by the Commission  of  Railway  Safety  (CRS)  under  the  Ministry  of  Civil Aviation  or  by  the  Departmental  Inquiry  Committee  of  Railway  to determine cause of accident. The recommendations of Inquiry Reports for  system  improvement  are  implemented  to  prevent  recurrence  of similar train accidents. As  on  31.10.2023,  131  claim  cases  of  compensation,  regarding  rail accidents, are pending in different benches of Railway Claims Tribunal.  The  amount  of  compensation  paid  by  the  Railways  to  the victims/Next of Kins of deceased in train accidents (as defined under Section 124 of the Railways Act, 1989) and level crossing during the last five years i.e. 2018-19 to 2022-23 and the current year is approx Rs 33.93 Crore. Further, necessary instructions  have  been  issued  by the  Principal  Bench  of  Railway  Claims  Tribunal  to  its  respective benches to take immediate action in association with Zonal Railway Officials to get the claim application filed from the aggrieved litigants without any delay, and to dispose of the claim cases expeditiously.

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