I don't want any heavy discussion on this topic and Moderators might close it as soon as they want.
I just want to share this article to show our respect for the lives that we lost today and pay our condolences to the bereaved families.
Each one of you reading this could have been one of them!
My condolences to the families and prayer for India to not see another such derailment.
Another railway accident – in Madhya Pradesh – and the usual excuses. This time it is not human error but a ‘natural calamity.’ So the Railways have no responsibility. Compensation will be announced and it will be business as usual, unless Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu gets tough on the Railway Board.
It is not that accidents will not happen on a network as vast and as stretched as the Indian Railways. But to earn the benefit of doubt, the Railways should be earnest and have a credible mechanism to create a safety culture.
In February 2012, a committee headed by nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar gave a report on railway safety. It observed that in the Railways“there is no practice of independent safety regulation.” The Railway Board was“rule maker, operator and regulator, all wrapped in one.” The commissioners of railway safety should be watchdogs but have “negligible role at the operational level.” Being employees, they could be over-ruled by the Board. Safety norms set up by the Railways themselves “are often flouted for reasons of operational exigencies.”..........Continue here
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Condolences for the victims. May their soul Rest In Peace.
In another derailment yesterday 14 goods trains' bogies derailed badly at around same time near bilaspur..it was on the mainline too..Its fortunate that it was not a passenger train which was due 10 minutes later..
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/chhattisgarh-goods-train-derail-4385472/
In 2012, the Ministry of Railways received recommendations of the High Level Safety Review Committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Anil Kakodkar that was appointed to review the safety of the Indian Railways and recommend improvements to avoid and reduce casualties in rail accidents like this one.
The death toll in Sunday's accident could have been much lower had the railways paid attention to the recommendations of the Anil Kakodkar committee on railway safety which suggested complete switching over to Linke Holfmann Bush (LHB) coaches from Integral Coach Factory (ICF) designed coaches.
The panel, in its report in 2012, had said, "After carefully analysing the casualties of passengers in train collisions and derailments for the past 10 years, the committee is of the view that ICF design of passenger coaches are no more safe at the present operational speeds of 100-120kmph with trailing loads of 20-24 coaches."
So far, only 22 recommendations of the Committee have been implemented, and another 20 recommendations are in final stages of implementation out of 106 recommendations that were made. The rest of the recommendations need to be implemented soon.
Ultra Sonic Fault Detection (USFD) checks of tracks should be routinely done to avoid accidents because of fractures.
This accident highlights the fact that there’s a need to prioritize passenger safety over passenger amenities which have seen a lot of reforms lately.
Note: The stainless steel LHB coaches have more in-built safety features which can absorb shock and impact of derailment more effectively and as a result do not topple.