Accidents Decline, but Expenses on Safety Remain Low, The Hindu Editorial Analysis
The Hindu Editorial Analysis: The Editorial Analysis of The Hindu Newspaper Editorial Articles aimed at simplifying various concepts relevant to the UPSC and other State PSC Exams. The Editorial Analysis helps in expanding the knowledge base as well as framing better quality mains answers. Today’s Hindu Editorial Analysis of ‘Accidents Decline, but Expenses on Safety Remain Low’ discusses railway accidents in India over the period of time and what measures and funding has been there on the measures ensuring safety against rail accidents. This ‘The Hindu Editorial’ is relevant in the context of recent Rail Accident in Odisha resulting in death of hundreds of people.
An initial examination of historical data regarding railway accidents suggests that such occurrences have become less frequent over time. In the 1960s, the Indian Railways experienced an average of approximately 1,390 accidents annually. However, this number has significantly decreased to an average of 80 accidents per year in the past decade. Despite this positive trend, the recent triple-train collision in Balasore, Odisha, which stands as one of the most devastating incidents in India, raises concerns about the safety of rail travel.
Train accidents refer to consequential train accidents: those that resulted in loss of human life, loss of railway property, caused injuries, and interrupted rail traffic. Derailments formed close to 70% of all accidents since 1990-91, followed by level crossing accidents, collisions and fires in trains
The tragic incident in Odisha, which resulted in the loss of at least 275 lives, is particularly noteworthy. The number of fatalities in this single incident surpasses the combined annual death toll from consequential train accidents in the past 16 years.
It is worth noting that a significant portion of consequential train accidents, approximately 55%, can be attributed to negligence or failures on the part of Railway staff.
Rail fractures, weld failures, track defects, and rolling stock defects are the major causes of derailments. The Ministry of Railways recognizes that the track is the crucial foundation of the railway transportation system and must be maintained with safety as a top priority.
The Union Budget for the year 2023-24 allocated a record-breaking amount of ₹2.40 lakh crore to the Railways.
In the fiscal year 2017-18, the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) fund was established with a corpus of ₹1 lakh crore.
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