Sujit De
This refers to the report, “13 children killed as train hits school van” (Herald, 27 April). Misplaced priorities have given birth to another tragic incident in which 13 school children have been killed by a speeding train that smashed a school van at an unmanned crossing at Kushinagar near Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. When will all these unattended railway crossings be upgraded either by employing permanent gate keepers or by building flyovers over the crossings?
India has 9,340 unmanned crossings as recorded in 2016. A flyover at Kushinagar crossing must have saved the precious lives of so many school children. It also saved us from hearing the word “nautanki” (!) from such a dignified chair as that of the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
It is also a matter of grave concern that railway tracks are not being properly maintained. Track fractures are suspected to be the cause of a derailment massacre of a recent rail accident and old ICF coaches have added insult to injury.
The Kakodkar Committee on Rail Safety as well as the Sam Pitroda Committee on Modernisation of Indian Railways have recommended complete migration from ICF to LHB coaches as the latter can ensure enhanced passenger safety in case of derailment. Presently, LHB coaches are restricted only to Shatabdi, Rajdhani, Duronto premium trains. But it needs to be extended to all other trains immediately to ensure safety of the passengers.
The irony is that while the Ahmedabad-Mumbai, bullet train project will cost Rs 1 lakh crore; financial constraints hinder track renewal, a total replacement of coaches from ICF to LHB, modernisation of signalling systems and building flyovers over all important railway crossings.
Then, why on earth must we give priority to bullet trains? Is not it a callous negligence (or shall we say nautanki?) on the part of the Indian Railways to compromise on safety standards? Is our democracy of the political leaders, by the poor voters and for the super rich? Our government must not ensure speed for a few rich people at the cost of our lives and safety.
