Safety panel set up to curb rail accidents in India

Upset by an alarming rise in the deaths in train accidents in the last two years, the Union railway ministry on Friday constituted a high-level safety review committee under the chairmanship of former Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar. The ministry has also roped in Delhi Metro managing director as adviser to the committee.

“With a view to ensure that safety is given overriding priority, the need was felt for an objective assessment and validation of time-tested systems and protocols in vogue on railway system,” railway minister Dinesh Trivedi said.

The committee will lay down the road map on safety issues which need to be addressed in the short-term and long-term, and give recommendations. However, it is not clear if the committee has been given any deadline for the submission of its report. From April 1 to September 15, 57 deaths have occurred due to accidents.

Doing a U-turn from his earlier statement, Trivedi also said that railways won’t burden the common man with a hike in fares, but a mechanism is being worked out to raise the railways’ revenue.