Context
Article concerns about the preliminary finding of the Commission of Railway that the derailment of the Indore-Rajendranagar Express near Kanpur in November 2016 was primarily caused by carriage and wagon defects should serve as a reality check for the Railway Ministry
Issue: Rail safety
Author’s contention
Bad railway performance is responsible for the majority of the accidents
CRS report’s findings
Report has identified following reason for the accident,
- A variation in the wheel gauges of two coaches
- Running of carriages beyond their useful life
Findings of annual report of CRS Lucknow 2012-13
Author states that this is not a rare instance where inquiries have found the Railways seriously deficient. The annual report of the CRS Lucknow for 2012-13 cites following causes responsible for fatal accidents,
- Failure of railway equipment
- Derelict staff
- Rail fractures
- Non-railway factors on some occasions to be responsible for fatal accidents. The collision of the Hubli-Bengaluru City Hampi Express with a goods train that left 25 people dead, for instance, was caused by failure of staff
Findings of Kakodkar committee
The Kakodkar committee on railway safety found that out of 441 derailments it analysed, only about 15% were the result of sabotage, while the majority were caused by factors completely under the control of the railway administration
Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK)
The Union Railway Ministry has decided to create a 1 lakh crore rupees safety fund named Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh to strengthen safety measures on the rail network to prevent accidents
- It was announced by Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in the Lok Sabha while replying to a debate on Demands for Grants for Railways for 2016-17. In this regard Union Railway Ministry has forwarded a proposal to the Union Finance Ministry for approval
Key facts
- Non-lapsable fund: The Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh will be a non-lapsable fund (the liability of funds not released in a particular year is carried forward to the subsequent years) which will be utilised for safety measures
- A fillip to the Zero-accident mission: The fund will help Indian Railways to accomplish its zero-accident mission by strengthening the safety measures on the rail network in a comprehensive way
- Works to be undertaken: Under this fund, following works would be undertaken like
- Track renewal and upgradation
- Bridge rehabilitation
- Elimination of level-crossings
- Construction of road over bridges/road under bridges
- Replacement and improvement of signalling system
- Improvement and upgradation of rolling stock
- Replacement of electrical assets
- Human resource development
Author suggests
- Transparency: RRSK should be governed by a transparent framework with public reporting requirements
- Higher gross budgetary support:Finance ministry wants the fund (RRSK) to rely on internal sources but as per author the fund should be given a higher budgetary support as rail safety is a prime concern and obligation of the government
- Usage of modern technologies: Author points towards usage of modern technologies like Ultrasonic flaw detection etc to prevent rail accidents
Ultrasonic flaw detection
Ultrasound uses sound waves, or vibrations, that propagate at frequencies that are above the range of human hearing (normally above 20,000 Hz or cycles per second)
- Transmission of wave: Ultrasonic waves are transmitted into the rail at various angles – from the top of the rail head through the web to the bottom of the rail and the entire width of the rail head – by piezoelectric transducers
- Detection of flaw: If a flaw condition (rail head surface conditions, internal or visible rail flaws, or weld upsets or finishes) is encountered of sufficient size and orientation, the ultrasound signal is reflected back to the appropriate transducer
- Recording of data:The information is then processed by the test system and recorded in the permanent test data record
Read More: Refer to 9pm Briefs dated 22nd November 2016&23rd November 2016 for articles related to rail safety
