Indian Railways will observe a month-long safety drive from Friday.
“Ministry of Railways has directed Zonal Railways to launch a month-long safety drive with effect from October 28, 2022, to remove any gaps in maintenance of fixed assets, locomotives and rolling stock and strengthening safety on Indian Railways,” said an official statement on Thursday.
During the drive, it will be ensured that procedures are being followed and human factors will be monitored.
Correcting deficiencies
Railway Board has directed all Zonal Railways to ensure that officers in headquarters and divisions carry out thorough inspections and ensure correction of deficiencies found during inspections within the drive, the Ministry said, adding that at least one headquarters officer must be on inspection on each day during the drive in each division.
Further, each major section of each division must be under Night Foot Plate Inspection by an officer.
“General health of fixed assets is to be examined,” it further said.
Regular patrolling
Directives for this mega safety drive from Railway Board includes regular patrolling of all tracks and it should be monitored on day-to-day basis. Surprise checks at stations should also be conducted to ensure proper operational practices are being followed and no safety system is being bypassed.
The Ministry said gate, station and other operating staff should also be encouraged to be vigilant to avoid accidents.
According to NCRB data, there were 17,9,93 railway accidents and 1,550 railway crossing accidents which caused 16,4,31 and 1,807 deaths respectively during 2021.