‘Your govt finding diversionary tactics’—Mallikarjun Kharge to PM Modi on Odisha train accident

Instead of focusing on strengthening the railways at the basic level, only superficial touch up is being done to stay in news, writes Congress president Kharge in his letter to Modi.

Modi inaugurates Train 18 in New Delhi | ThePrint

Dear Prime Minister,

The devastating train accident in Balasore, Odisha, one of the worst in Indian history, has shocked the nation. The country stands united in this hour of grief, however the loss of so many precious lives has shaken the conscience of every Indian. The loss of these lives is irreparable and no amount of monetary compensation or words of condolence can make up for this grave tragedy.

Despite all the revolutionary strides in field of transportation, Indian Railways is still a lifeline for every common Indian. It isn’t just the most reliable but also the most economical mode of transport. It’s remarkable how the railways transport passengers that equal the whole population of Australia every single day.

But I say with remorse that instead of focusing on strengthening the railways at the basic level only superficial touch up is being done to stay in news. Instead of making the railways more effective, more advanced, and more efficient, it is instead being meted out with step-motherly treatment. Meanwhile, consistently flawed decision making has made travelling by rail unsafe and has in turn compounded the problems of our people.

I wish to bring a few important facts to your notice.

1. At present about 3 lakh posts are lying vacant in Indian Railways. In fact in the East Coast Railway – the site of this tragic accident – about 8278 posts are vacant. It’s the same story of apathy and negligence even in the case of senior positions, where both the PMO and the Cabinet Committee play a crucial role in appointments. There were more than 18 lakh railway employees in the decade of nineties, which have now been reduced to about 12 lakh, of which, 3.18 lakh are employed on contractual basis. Vacant posts pose a threat to the assured jobs of people who belong to SC / ST / OBC and EWS. It’s a pertinent question to ask – why have such high number of vacancies not been filled over the last 9 years?
2. The Railway Board itself has recently admitted that loco pilots have had to work longer hours than mandated due to manpower shortage. Loco pilots are crucial to safety and their overburden is proving to be the main cause of accidents. Why have their positions not been filled yet?
3. On February 8, 2023, the Principal Chief Operating Manager of South West Zonal Railway, referred to the collision of two trains in Mysore, and asserted for the need to repair the signaling system and had also forewarned about potential accidents in the future due to this flaw. But why and how could the Ministry of Railways ignore this crucial warning?
4. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture in its 323rd Report (dated December 2022) has criticized the complete apathy and negligence of the Railway Board towards recommendations of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS). The report further revealed how the CRS investigates into only 8% to 10% of train accidents. Why has no effort been made to make CRS stronger and ensure its autonomy?
5. The latest audit report of CAG, makes a special mention of how between 2017-18 to 2020-21, about 7 out of 10 train accidents happened due to derailment from tracks. But this was erroneously ignored. Between 2017-21, there was zero testing of Rail and Weld (Track Maintenance) for safety in East Coast Railway. Why were these grave red flags ignored?
6. The CAG report also highlights that funding for the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) has been reduced by a massive 79%. It was claimed during the budget presentation that about Rs 20,000 crore would be available annually, but this was not done. Why were the required funds not allocated for track renewal work? Is this not being callous about the safety of passengers?
7. Why was the previous goverment’s plans to roll out the anti-train-collision system, originally named Raksha Kavach put on the back burner? This system was developed by the Konkan Railway and tested successfully by the Research Designs and Standards Organization (RDSO) in 2011, it was meant to prevent collision of trains. Your government simply renamed the scheme ‘Kavach’ and in March 2022, the Railway Minister himself projected the rechristened scheme as a new novel invention. But the question still remains, why have only a measly 4% of routes of Indian Railways been protected by ‘Kavach’ till now?
8. What was the reason for merging the Budget for Indian Railways with the Union Budget in 2017-18? Has this not adversely affected the autonomy and decision making capacity of Indian Railways? Was this done to undermine the autonomy of Railways to push reckless privatisation? Even though privatisation of Railways was repeatedly opposed during Parliamentary proceedings, but all concerns have been ignored by bringing trains to stations under the ambit of brazen privatisation. It’s apparent that the government’s arbitrary decision making including the National Rail Plan for up to 2050 without any consultation or detailed discussion is aimed at exploiting the railways and making it an easy target and fodder for private companies.
9. A huge entity like the Indian Railways has brought respite to all sections of the society since independence. But it’s puzzling to comprehend, who have been the beneficiary of the decision to withdraw concessions that were being given to the elderly, children and women during the pandemic? The insensitivity is evident when upper berths are being allotted to the elderly and women, who are also being forced to face different kinds of problems now.
10. Unfortunately, the people in charge – your goodself and Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnav – do not want to admit that there are problems. The Railway Minister claims to have already found a root cause, but yet has requested the CBI to investigate. The CBI is meant to investigate crimes, not railway accidents. The CBI, or any other law enforcement agency, cannot fix accountability for technical, institutional and political failures. In addition, they lack the technical expertise in railway safety, signalling, and maintenance practices.
11. The nation still remembers the 2016 derailment in Kanpur, where 150 people lost their lives. The Railway Minister asked the NIA to investigate. Subsequently, you yourself claimed in an election rally in 2017 that there was a “conspiracy”. The nation was assured that strictest punishment would be meted out. However, in 2018, the NIA closed the investigation and refused to file a chargesheet. The nation is still in the dark – who is responsible for 150 avoidable deaths?

The statements so far and the roping in of yet another agency without the required expertise, remind us of 2016. They show that your government has no intent to address the systemic safety malaise, but is instead finding diversionary tactics to derail any attempts to fix accountability.

The train accident in Odisha has been an eye opener for all of us. All the empty safety claims of the Railway Minister have now been exposed. There is serious concern among the common passengers about this deterioration in safety. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the government to ascertain and bring to light the real reasons that caused this grave accident. 

Today, the most crucial step is to prioritise installation of mandatory safety standards and equipment across railway routes to ensure safety of our passengers and no recurrence of an accident like the one at Balasore.

Mallikarjun Kharge is a former Union Railway Minister and current president of Indian National Congress. He tweets @kharge.