To check the growing number of rail accidents, the Railway Minister, Mr Dinesh Trivedi, on Friday announced the setting up of a high-level Safety Review Committee.
The committee, comprising experts in technical and high-end technology-related fields, will be headed by Dr Anil Kakodkar, former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission.
Panel members
He will be assisted by Dr N. Vedachalam of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Prof Sanjay Dhande, Director, IIT- Kanpur, and Mr G.P. Srivastava, Director E&I Group, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. Mr E. Sreedharan, Managing Director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, will play an advisory role.
Mr Trivedi said the committee would examine aspects connected with signalling systems, rolling stock (of all types), fixed structures (tracks, bridges), human resource development with emphasis on training, education and research, need for a third party audit etc.
Zero tolerance
As part of the Government's efforts to achieve “zero tolerance” on safety issues, the committee would lay down a road map on the long- and short-term safety-related issues, he said.
The Kalka Mail accident in July near Kanpur on North Central Railway, resulting in 70 casualties, and the recent collision near Arakonnam on Southern Railway, leading to 10 casualties, necessitated a “holistic assessment” of additional measures to enhance rail safety, Mr Trivedi added.