info@afternoonnews.in +91 98940 - 95096

Today Date : Wednesday, October 09, 2024

Odisha train accident and Railway's  lethargy!

Odisha train accident and Railway's lethargy!

Casualties due to train accidents, derailments and train collisions have become commonplace. In today's age of advanced technology, train accidents and collisions are on the rise, even with the ability to prevent such accidents.
 

However, some countries have implemented high-tech safety measures to prevent train accidents and have been successful in implementing them. Japan Railways can be credited with an efficient and safe railway infrastructure. Various advanced technologies are used to prevent train accidents. Similarly, countries like Germany, South Korea, and England use automated technologies to prevent train accidents to a large extent. Advanced technologies, robust maintenance, efficient communication systems, advance signalling, collision avoidance systems, automatic track inspection, advanced communication etc.
Several technologies are used in various countries to detect accident hazards like Advance Signaling System (PDC) technology, Train Collision Avoidance Equipment (TCAS) and Automatic Track Inspection (ATI). Although accident prevention is done using the above methods, railway accident prevention in countries like India has become a question mark. An example of that is the Odisha train accident. In this accident, 275 people were killed and thousands were injured, leaving the country in mourning.
What caused this accident? The Union Railway Minister has explained that this tragic accident happened due to the change of signal called electronic interlock. Indian Railways has adopted the technology of fitting a device called Kavach ( lit. 'Armour') is an automatic train protection (ATP) system  on locomotives to avoid accidents. 

But the Odisha train accident has exposed that the railways have acted with laxity in this regard. It is sad news that the locomotives where the accident occurred were not fitted with 'armor' devices.
It was reported in the Railway Advisory Council meeting last year that out of 13,200 locomotives in India, only 65 locomotives are equipped with 'armor' mechanism. In this, what is the action taken by the government after March 2022? Railways have to say. 

Therefore, there can be no alternative view that Indian Railways has been negligent in the safety of passengers by the Union Government. Has the profit-seeking Railways, even scrapped the fare concession for senior citizens, also implemented its austerity measures in terms of safety? The doubt has arisen. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Union government's focus on publicity, neglecting passenger safety, was responsible for the massive loss of lives in the Odisha train accident. India's Railway Minister Marthati came out to fly the flag of several crores of rupees, is that important? The most important thing is to save precious lives.Indian Railways should wake up soon. It is the desire of the people of the country to identify the best technologies in the world and implement them immediately to prevent another incident like the Odisha accident!