Enhanced safety measures help avert mishap in Bihar

New Delhi: The Indian Railways on Monday said it has averted a major mishap between Samastipur and Barauni, days after Hirakhand Express derailed in Andhra Pradesh, killing 41 people.

Senior officials said that it was the “heightened safety measures taken in view of the rise in number of accidents” which saw the tragedy being averted on Monday.

Officials said two patrolmen found two stone slabs “deliberately” placed on track between Sathajagat and Dalsinghsarai under Sonepur division around midnight.

When the patrolmen went closer, a group of four people hiding there tried to shoo them away, officials said.

“There is a substantial increase in derailment cases this year as compared against the same period last year and it is a serious concern,” railway board chairman A.K. Mital.  He hinted at security lapses in case of derailments due to outside interference on the track.

The 13420 Muzaffarpur-Bhagalpur Intercity was to pass through the same tracks, they said.

Unable to take on the group of miscreants, the patrolmen rushed to Dalsinghsarai station and returned with RPF, GRP and Engineering personnel to remove the slabs around 1.22 am.

The railways said that in order to avoid such incidences it has launched an extensive safety drive.

“All the tracks have been thoroughly inspected and shortcomings have been noted. These shortcomings are being removed in a programmed manner. Night patrolling, footplate inspection, counselling of the staff, holding safety seminars and other means of safety vigilance have been activated by the railways. As sabotage is also a factor which cannot be neglected, the intensive and extensive monitoring of the tracks is also being done,” a senior official said.

Despite several incidents of mishap, the railways has not been able to set aside a fund for safety. However, sources said that the finance ministry has now apparently agreed in-principle to set up such a fund and the corpus money might be announced in the upcoming Budget, which will be the first where railways’ will be merged with the General Budget.

Among the major derailments in the recent past include the 19321 Indore-Patna express going off the tracks near Pukhrayan station in Kanpur-Jhanshi section on November 20 last year and the 12987 Sealdah-Ajmer express near Rura station in Kanpur Dehat on December 28.

According to the data, there are about 72 derailments this year as compared to about 50 such cases last year.