Safety of Indian railway in spotlight

THE TRACK where an Indian train derailed on Sunday, killing 150 people, was inspected just two days earlier and found to be in good condition, raising more questions about the safety of a network seeking $17billion in funding to prevent more crashes.

The derailment, among India’s worst train tragedies, was a stark reminder of the dilapidated condition of the vast state-run railways and of the challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces in fulfilling his promise to modernise them.

Officials believe a rail fracture may have sent 14 carriages crumpling into each other as most of the 1700-odd passengers on board slept. But they cannot be sure until each section of damaged track is analysed.

“This was an accident where all of the rails were uprooted and broken. It’s very complicated,” Mohammad Jamshed, a senior railways ministry official said. Built under British rule, the world’s fourth largest rail network ferries 23 million people across India every day.

With people regularly clinging precariously to the outside of carriages or crammed on the roof, it is groaning under growing demand and decades of underinvestment.

Modi, who has a deep attachment to the railways having started out selling tea at a station, last year announced a record 8.5 trillion rupees (R1 767 billion) five-year investment plan to bring the network into the 21st century.

The government has focused on building new lines at crunch points and expanding the network into remote areas, and says it has nearly doubled the amount spent on safety.

Accidents, however, are rising, with 80 reported this financial year to November 15 from 69 during the same period last year.

India recorded 27 581 railway deaths in 2014, the most recent year for which figures are available, with most victims falling from, or being struck by moving trains.

Fares are highly subsided to help poor people travel, and money earned from freight is used to fund passenger services. But that has meant more than 90 percent of the railways revenues are spent on operating costs.

PICTURE: EPA GRISLY WORK: Rescue workers look for survivors at the site of a train accident in Kanpur, India on Sunday in which more than 140 people were killed.