Train Mishap: Accountability Must Be Fixed, Guilty Punished
The India Commentary view
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By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2023-06-06 07:16:35
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The India Commentary view
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There is no doubt that Indian Railways have become much safer than they were even a decade ago. Accidents per million train kilometres were 0.1 in 2013-14. They have declined to 0.03 in 2021-22. Accidents at level crossings and number of derailments have also gone down significantly. But despite that, three trains were involved in a horrific accident that took place in Odisha's Balasore distric. It has shaken the country and devastated thousands of families as it was the worst train accident in three decades. With more than 275 dead and thousands injured, it is a grim tragedy that needs proper investigation and corrective measures to ensure something like this never happens again.
That the Coromandel Express was erroneously directed to a loop line where a goods train was already parked shows that the signaling system failed big time. The reason, as given by the authorities, was disruption in 'electronic interlocking'. Further investigation is in progress and the picture will be clear in a few days. The CBI is also probing the matter and will investigate if there was sabotage. The Railways will have to learn lessons from the tragedy and will have to make systems more robust and technically superior to avoid such accidents. It must also, post the investigation, fix responsibility and punish the guilty.
What has warmed hearts is the fact that the rescue and relief operations were top notch. Starting from the local people and other volunteers who reached the spot first to railway staff and teams of Odisha and Bengal government to NDRF, Army, IAF and fire services personnel, it was a solid performance from all to ensure that more lives were not lost, people were extricated from crushed bogies and taken to hospitals in time and the tracks were cleared expeditiously to ensure that services were resumed at the earliest. They worked tirelessly and round the clock in this time of crisis.
