Is Indian Railways stretched beyond its capacity?

When maintenance work is carried out on the railway, automatic signaling is switched off and manual takeover of the system takes place. In 2015, inspecting officers found that the station master and signal maintainer could refer to safety literature, but were unable to answer questions on this. They found that mock drills were not done at all points, safety clamps were not greased, and locks and keys were not numbered properly. Some relay rooms were found open. Automatic signaling systems can be designed to fail on the side of safety, but how do we fortify manual systems?

Mahesh Mangal: First, with regard to oversights and deficiencies, the railway system is vast. Regular inspections are done by supervisors and officers, training is done regularly, and feedback is also received regularly. Some of these things that you mentioned are caused by the lack of integrity of the employees. But such incidents are not regular. Otherwise, we cannot operate 20,000 trains daily at 7,000 or 8,000 stations. Most of the trains are punctual and run properly. There is some slowness, yes, but not substantially.

Read this also | Railway Board was aware of the short-cut methods by the signaling staff

Sudhanshu Mani: Such incidents have happened, but that does not mean that there is an overall laxity and lack of security. These are examples that point to how the system needs to improve in those particular areas as and when they are addressed. Of course, you can never do enough as far as security is concerned. Though the safety record of Railways has improved a lot over the years, but this accident has cast a huge shadow on our record. Security systems need a fresh look. And culture protection rule is supreme. Punctuality and other aspects of railways are to be included in this.

There’s been a lot of fuss about it shield, Anti-collision device. Could it help or not? And if not, what are some ways to fix signaling problems?

Mahesh Mangal: We provided anti-collision features and these systems provide some kind of protection. In this particular case the armor would have been of little use. If a train enters the wrong line – say it was signaled for the main line, but enters a loop line due to some sort of interference with the signaling system – it will immediately apply the emergency brake. But in this case the loop line was captured. And the distance between the parked freight train and the point from where the Coromandel Express entered the loop line was hardly 100-150 metres. The braking distance of such a train running at a speed of 130 kmph would be more than 600 metres. So, the armor would have made a difference in the sense that the impact could have been reduced, but it wouldn’t have prevented the crash.

Read this also | Upgraded version of ‘Kavach’ on the horizon

Sudhanshu Mani: One can do an impact analysis and know how much the armor would have helped. Since the forward compartments of the Coromandel Express were, I think, overcrowded, I suspect the death toll would have come down significantly.

There has been a lot of discussion about the absence of armor. It is under development since 2012. Armor roll-out speed should be increased. This is going to make the system as safe as the European rail system. And it will also increase the efficiency of the system as it warns the driver in advance. It has many advantages. The roll-out is only 4%, so we need fast implementation.

You talked about overcrowding in the general bogies. Migrant workers often travel in these general coaches which cost only ₹370 per ticket. Sometimes their owners give them sleeper class tickets. How does overcrowding affect the way coaches are designed?

Sudhanshu Mani: Overcrowding is a fact. Sometimes the cans are filled three-four times more than the capacity. You might have heard people saying that these passengers don’t pay enough and that’s why they travel like this, but you don’t see that in developed countries. We have to work assuming that we become a developed country. And this would mean that every Indian would have to travel with dignity if not in comfort. Dignity means a seat or a berth for everyone. This may seem impossible given the way trains are run today, but I do not believe it is impossible. There needs to be more emphasis on elite trains which are profitable. That money can be used to run longer trains or design coaches that accommodate more passengers.

comment | Railway safety back on track after Odisha

Mahesh Mangal: I do not think so [accidents] Could be due to overcrowding. You see how trains run in Mumbai Suburban Railway. During peak hours, trains are filled with two to three times the capacity. Still, people travel in these trains because other modes of transport are not available, or are expensive, or are difficult to adopt.

In India, there are some high density routes such as the Howrah-Chennai route or the Delhi-Mumbai route. In these cases, you need to balance punctuality with safety. For example, does this leave little time for any block maintenance work on the track?

Mahesh Mangal: Most of these sections operate at more than the design capacity of double-line sections. So, of course, giving block (blocking the tracks against the movement of traffic on a particular section to allow maintenance works) and disconnection (that is disconnecting the automatic signaling so that there is manual control for the setting of routes ) and there is pressure to ensure. Punctuality. We have a working timetable which helps us to block periods between some mail/express trains. After this, the controllers operating the trains will have to follow it. This is often not followed due to late running of trains. And so they are not able to give the two hour duration that is available for the block. Punctuality is monitored 24X7. There is awareness among all the employees regarding safety. Sometimes such accidents happen due to lack of safety. [lack of] Trains get delayed due to punctuality. Hence, more emphasis is placed on punctuality, and safety takes a back seat to an extent.

Read this also | Railways to secure signaling equipment with double locks after Odisha tragedy

Sudhanshu Mani: Security cannot be traded for anything. I am reading ridiculous suggestions like ‘the speed of trains should be reduced’. It is regressive. We have to increase the speed, but also bring in a system that ensures safety. You can get even faster speeds without compromising on security. Safety has to be given priority over punctuality. Punctuality can be improved and it can be made safer with inputs. And a huge amount of money has been arranged for track renewal. We have eliminated unmanned level crossings, but the time has come to eliminate manned level crossings which can cause delays. So, grade separation is the solution. Greater focus is required on coverage, track renewal and elimination of level crossings.

The Commission of Railway Safety (CRS), which is under the aegis of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, has taken over the investigation into the Balasore accident. Simultaneously, the CBI investigation is going on. Why is CRS under the Ministry of Aviation?

Sudhanshu Mani: Commissioner of Railway Safety is an ex-member of Railways who cannot go back to Railways after joining this organization and works under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Therefore, CRS has independence from the Railway hierarchy. And the system has worked well. He has made strong recommendations over the years. I cannot answer why the CBI inquiry was ordered. Since it was such a big accident, I would have liked it if the government had ordered a judicial inquiry. Overall, judicial inquiry is considered to be the biggest fair inquiry in our country.

Mahesh Mangal: For most of the accidents, the investigation done by CRS has yielded good results, it is very fast. And as the investigators are from the Railways in the past, they know the system and can sort out the technical aspects. And they can give good suggestions. But yes, it is better to have a judicial inquiry for all major accidents. Probably the judiciary will look at it from a different perspective, not from a strategic point of view but also from the point of view of manpower (shortage).