Train Accidents In India: 20 Lives Lost In 45 days. What's Making Train Journey A Death Ride?

Jharkhand Train Accident: Indian railway safety is under threat again due to the derailing of Howrah-Mumbai Mail on Tuesday morning near Barabamboo in Jharkhand

Train Accident News: The frequent train tragedies continue to raise serious safety concerns. India has witnessed multiple train derailments, and three specific passenger train accidents, in the past 45 days, resulting in 20 fatalities. This follows last year's devastating rail disaster in Odisha, which claimed over 290 lives.

Indian railway safety is once again under scrutiny after 18 coaches of the Howrah-Mumbai Mail derailed on Tuesday morning near Barabamboo in Jharkhand, leading to two deaths and injuries to over 20 people. Including the three major accidents that occurred in June and July, the total number of lives lost stands at 20, with over 100 injuries reported.

June 17: Kanchanjunga Express Derailed

There were over 60 injuries and 11 fatalities when two coaches on the Kanchanjunga Express derailed last month on June 17. According to railway officials, a goods train ignored the signal and hit the Kanchanjunga Express, which was travelling from Agartala to Sealdah, near New Jalpaiguri.

July 18: Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express Derailed

An express train travelling from Chandigarh to Dibrugarh derailed near Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, resulting in four deaths and over 40 injuries. The accident took place at Pikaura, halfway between Gonda and Jhilahi in Uttar Pradesh. The authorities said a potential attempt at track sabotage could be the reason behind the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh train accident.

July 30: Howrah-Mumbai Mail Derailed 

Early Tuesday morning, as many as 18 coaches of the Howrah-Mumbai passenger train derailed close to the Charadharpur division of Jharkhand, resulting in at least two deaths and 20 injuries. The incident occurred when a goods train derailed and collided with the oncoming Howrah-Mumbai Mail on the parallel track, according to railway officials. All injured passengers were taken to Jamshedpur's Tata Main Hospital.

What's causing train journeys to be a death ride?

The three accidents that occurred during the course of one month had a couple of things in common—signal malfunctions or problems with track safety. What's upsetting is that the much-publicized 'Suraksha KAVACH' of the Railways has disappeared.

What Is 'KAVACH' in Railways? 

The Indian Railways has created an in-house Automatic Train Protection and Warning (ATP) system, called 'KAVACH', to prevent accidents caused by human error that result in "signal passing at danger" and "overspeeding".

Following the installation of the domestic ATP system to improve train safety over 1,400 km of the South Central Railway Zone, the Indian Railways approved KAVACH work on more than 34,000 km of routes on densely populated and heavily used networks, according to a statement from the Railway Board. 

Quick Installation Of 'KAVACH' Needed 

The necessity of installing the 'Kavach' system more quickly is repeatedly emphasised as a crucial first step to improving passenger safety. 'Kavach' received an allocation of Rs 1,112.57 crore in the Union Budget. It's operational on 1,445 km of the 69,000-km rail network at the moment, with 139 out of 14,800 locomotives. Plans are afoot to extend its reach to 4,500 km in the next fiscal year. 

Train Accidents: Data From Rail Ministry  

A sum of Rs 2.52 lakh crore has been allocated to the railways this year. Train capital expenditure deployment has climbed by 77% over the previous five years, according to the Economic Survey 2023–24. Passenger safety has not advanced very quickly, despite data from the Ministry of Railways indicating that train accidents have decreased significantly from 473 in 2000–01 to 135 in 2014–15, and then to 48 in 2022. 

Switching To Electronic Interlocking Systems

The Indian Railways has switched from manual to electronic interlocking systems, emphasising the importance of railway safety and punctuality. In order to detect the presence of a train on the track, these systems use electrical track circuits, signals, and points. Of the 7,325 railway stations as of FY24, 46% had made the switch to electronic interlocking. Essential features of electronic interlocking systems are: 

• Electronic interlocking systems are divided into the Automatic Block System and the Absolute Block System, which control train operations. 


• The Automatic Block System automatically divides sections into distance-based sections


• The Absolute Block System permits only one train to move between stations. 


• Trains keep a safe distance from one another thanks to automatic signals that change colour to indicate danger, caution, attention, and clarity.


• Presently, 4,431 route kilometers out of the 68,000 route kilometers in the railway network have the Automatic Block System installed.

According to reports, there is nearly one signal for every kilometre in automatic sections, which increases the likelihood of failure due to the higher train traffic and signal operation rates.

Signaling is not the "only cause," though. Quoting experts, many reports also pointed out that even though signalling systems are intended to be safe, mistakes in procedure and a weak safety framework frequently result in accidents. In addition, these mishaps are now commonplace in day-to-day activities.