In the early hours of July 30, around 0345 hours, in yet another railway accident near Rajkharsawan station in the Chakradharpur Division of the South Eastern Railway, at least two passengers were killed and 20 injured when 18 coaches of Train No. 12810, Howrah-Mumbai CSMT Mail, derailed. The latest accident apparently resulted from a derailment after a collision with another goods train that had already derailed.
The Hattrick
This accident occurred 80 km from Jamshedpur in the state of Jharkhand, from where I am filing this special railway accident piece. With this incident, Indian Railways (IR) has achieved an ignominious and dubious hattrick – three avoidable accidents in six weeks, resulting in the deaths of more than 20 people and injuries to more than 100. On 19 July, the derailment of the Chandigarh–Dibrugarh Express in the Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh, which falls under the jurisdiction of North Eastern Railway, caused four deaths and injured 31. In another railway accident on 17 June, two coaches of the Kanchanjunga Express derailed in Jalpaiguri, within the North East Frontier Railway zone. This incident resulted in 11 deaths and over 60 injuries.
What message do these three accidents, across three zones of Indian Railways, convey about the organisation’s safety orientation, preparedness, and safety record? I will delve into this issue shortly. But first, the story of another hattrick.
One More Hatrick
The Howrah-Mumbai Mail accident is also the third such incident in Jharkhand in the last six months. Earlier, at Gamharia station on the outskirts of Jamshedpur, the Utkal Express accident resulted in the deaths of four people on January 18. On February 28, another railway accident near Jamtara station caused the death of two individuals.
These two hat-tricks may either be isolated events or could indicate a recurring pattern. It is difficult to determine upfront, but there are some insights available from the previous year’s track record.
The Mayhem on Tracks
The calendar year 2023 was marked by significant mayhem on the tracks in India, with nearly 400 people perishing and over 1000 getting injured in railway accidents, including collisions, fire accidents, and derailments.
The most notorious of these 2023 accidents was the three-way train collision in Balasore district, Odisha, on June 2, 2023. This accident resulted in at least 296 deaths and more than 1000 injuries, with many being critically injured.
Luck by Chance
A close examination of railway accidents over the past three years reveals that no Zonal Railway and no major state has been free from the curse of mayhem on the tracks. If there are any exceptions, I call it ‘luck by chance’. The Indian Railways (IR) should not take credit for the lesser number of casualties in recent accidents. For instance, if 20 coaches derail and only two people die, as occurred in the latest Howrah-Mumbai rail accident, the IR should not claim credit, as it is once again a matter of luck. If any credit is due for the reduced number of casualties, it should go to the high-level committee on railway safety, chaired by noted atomic energy scientist Dr Anil Kakodkar. The committee’s recommendations led to the mainstreaming of LHB coaches in the IR, and it recommended halting the production of ICF coaches, which were rightly termed ‘killer coaches’.
Game of One-Upmanship
Whenever I ask a high-ranking railway official about the increase in railway accidents, they point to the falling number of consequential accidents per million kilometres travelled. If one questions the railway minister or any other representative of the ruling political dispensation, comparative figures are instantly produced to demonstrate the superior safety performance of the NDA government compared to the previous UPA administration.
Here are a few numbers: Under the UPA regime, between 2004 and 2014, Indian Railways (IR) averaged 171 consequential train accidents per year. This number was significantly reduced to 71 per year between 2014 and 2023. The most notable decrease occurred in the number of consequential train derailments: 867 under the UPA compared to 426 under the NDA. This represents a commendable reduction in derailments—from a high of 350 in 2000-01 to a low of 35 in 2022-23.
The figures improve further when examining train accidents per million train kilometres. Under the UPA government, this rate decreased from 0.29 in 2004-05 to 0.10 in 2013-14. Under the NDA government, the performance is even more impressive, with the rate dropping from 0.11 in 2014-15 to 0.037 in 2022-23. In terms of casualties, the NDA period is also considered superior, with 781 deaths and 1,543 injuries compared to 2,453 deaths and 4,486 injuries during the UPA era.
The latest Railway Annual Yearbook (2022-23) highlights the substantial investment in safety-related works and the improving safety performance of IR. So why do I still have concerns? I will return to that question shortly.
Not So Rosy
The Performance Audit Report No. 22 by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), titled “Derailment in Indian Railways (2022)”, analysed railway accidents that occurred between 2017 and 2021. Out of a total of 2,017 railway accidents, derailments were the cause of 1,392 accidents, accounting for 69 per cent of the total. When focusing solely on ‘consequential’ train accidents, which totalled 217, 163—approximately 75 per cent—were due to collisions. Fire accidents, a wholly unacceptable category, ranked second with 20 occurrences.
Devil in the Detail
There are numerous causes of railway accidents, many of which this author has explored in various articles on railway safety and accidents. However, one major issue is the disproportionate focus of the entire railway machinery on projecting “consequential train accidents” while often ignoring, or even covering up, other factors that contribute to these accidents.
But what exactly is a consequential train accident? According to Indian Railways, this term refers to accidents that involve loss of life, injuries, disruption of rail traffic (lasting at least twenty-four hours), and damage to railway property exceeding Rs 2 crores.
The root of the problem lies in the lack of ownership regarding non-consequential railway accidents and near misses. This aversion to addressing near misses and incidents before they escalate into serious accidents undermines efforts to achieve zero tolerance for such occurrences.
Selective Amnesia
I dare say that over time, Indian Railways (IR) has developed a troubling condition: “selective amnesia” regarding its own codes, manuals, and rules. As a railway professional, I often ask what constitutes a railway accident. I recall that every railway probationer during my time was educated on this matter. However, it seems that over the decades, the officials at Bhawan have either forgotten this or developed a serious condition of selective amnesia.
For those unfamiliar, Indian Railways has a comprehensive and all-encompassing definition of an accident. Here is the verbatim definition provided by IR:
“For the purpose of Railway working, an accident is an occurrence in the course of Railway operations which does or may affect the safety of the Railway, its engine, rolling stock, permanent way and works, fixed installations, passengers or staff, or which affects the safety of others, or which does or may cause delay to trains or loss to the Railway.”
There are at least five categories of railway accidents:
One, Train Accidents: These are further divided into two types—consequential and non-consequential. A consequential train accident includes those with serious repercussions such as loss of human life, injuries, damage to railway property, or disruption to rail traffic. Consequential accidents are classified into five categories: collisions, derailments, fires, level crossings, and a miscellaneous category for dangerous incidents. All other accidents not covered by this definition are classified as “other train accidents.”
Two, Yard Accidents: These refer to accidents that occur in a yard and do not involve a train.
Three, Indicative Accidents: While not accidents in the strictest sense, these events represent serious potential hazards. They include instances of trains passing signals at danger, averted collisions, and breaches of block regulations. These could be termed “averted accidents” or “accidents waiting to happen.”
Four, Equipment Failures: This category includes malfunctions of any railway equipment, encompassing locomotives, rolling stock, permanent way, overhead wires, signalling systems, and telecommunications equipment.
Five, Unusual Incidents: This category encompasses incidents related to law and order issues and other miscellaneous events that do not result in train accidents or fall into other categories.
A Small Subset of the Whole Gestalt
The definition and classification of accidents are self-explanatory, addressing occurrences that may affect the safety of the railway. However, as an avid reader of railway statistics, I rarely come across comprehensive statistics on railway accidents at a macro level, zone-wise, or at the divisional level where accidents actually occur. In the railway industry, there is often a focus on only one subset of accidents — ‘train accidents,’ specifically ‘consequential train accidents.’
My question is not why accidents happen, but why even a single accident occurs. Why is the “mission zero tolerance” for accidents, incidents, and near misses not taken seriously by Indian Railways, and why are no lessons learned from past accidents?
Way Out in Simple Steps
I have written enough on the subject. Here are a few simple steps to eliminate railway accidents-
One: Count it Right
It is time to accurately count every safety infringement. In an era of hyperconnectivity, data analytics, and AI, counting, collating, and analysing incidents, near misses, and accidents (whether real, averted, or potential) is straightforward.
Two: Make the Data Public
The daily safety meetings in divisions, zonal railways, and the Railway Board, where safety is the first item on the agenda, have become futile exercises. It is time to make all types of accident data public—not just consequential train accidents, which are often the result of railway negligence and collusion and can no longer be suppressed. This data should be available for public scrutiny and parliamentary oversight every month.
Three: Punish the Top
Indian Railways should stop penalising those at the bottom of the pyramid. When the problem is systemic, the responsibility should lie with the top. Senior railway officials must take ultimate responsibility for the primary causes of accidents. The reason China has not experienced a major high-speed train accident since the July 2011 disaster, which claimed forty lives, is that it dismissed many top-ranking officials. Until top officials fear losing their jobs, they will continue to endanger lives.
Four: Mission Implementation
Railways do not need another commission or committee to recommend safety improvements. What is needed is a thorough review of all past railway accident reports and the findings of previous committees set up to enhance railway safety. The High-Level Committee on Railway Safety, chaired by Dr Anil Kakodkar, has yet to see full implementation of its recommendations even after twelve years. The most glaring omission remains the establishment of an independent safety architecture.
Five: Zero Tolerance
Unless the above four measures are implemented immediately, “mission zero accident” will forever remain a pipe dream. It is only a matter of time before I am writing in the aftermath of yet another entirely avoidable railway accident. After every such report, I hang my head in shame as a railwayman. When will the mandarins occupying the upper echelons of Rail Bhawan at Raisina Hills finally wake up?
The author is Multidisciplinary Thought Leader with Action Bias, India Based International Impact Consultant, and keen watcher of changing national and international scenario. He works as President Advisory Services of Consulting Company BARSYL. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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