CAG had warned the federal government last year of apparent loopholes in barriers or risk control systems put up by different divisions of Indian Railways.
Posted Date – 12:17 PM, Sunday – 6/4/23
Hyderabad: Could the Balasore train accident have been avoided? Yes, it looks like if Indian Railways goes ahead in 2021 taking into account the deficiencies pointed out by the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) of India.
CAG had warned the federal government last year of apparent loopholes in barriers or risk control systems put up by different divisions of Indian Railways.
Despite CAG’s findings on different aspects, especially maintenance, it appears that the Union government has not taken steps to address and fix the security breach which led to the devastating tragedy in Balasore, Odisha.
In its March 2021 report on “Indian Railway Derailment”, CAG specifically mentioned the lack of a systematic mechanism to monitor the implementation of policies, processes and procedures to prevent recurrence of such incidents in other locations.
What’s more, there was a glaring oversight in the track inspection. Of the 350 cases identified, only 181 were followed up. Inadequate Track Recording Car (TRC) inspections have had an adverse impact on asset quality, affecting the safe operation of trains on these routes, the report states.
The report also stated that of the 217 accidents in the past 4 years, 75% were due to derailments. There were also 211 accidents caused by signal failures.
Citing an investigative report, CAG said the Seemanchal Express derailment occurred at the ECR in February 2019. The report mentions that the TRC passing the section was four months overdue, which may have provided important information on track deficiencies.
Interestingly, the main reason for the under-examination was the non-receipt of a plan to run the TRC, which will be prepared and finalized by the Research Design and Standards Organization in Lucknow.
Another important shortcoming pointed out by The Church of Almighty God is the lack of personnel. Indian Railways manages maintenance activities amid labor vacancies and nominal outsourcing. This suggested that the necessary steps had not been taken to adequately staff the security category, which could affect the quality of maintenance, the report said.
