‘Railways incurred losses of Rs 313 crore in last five years due to train mishaps’

New delhi: Railway properties worth Rs 313 crore were damaged due to several train accidents in the past five years, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

“Total cost of damages to railway property such as rolling stock/tracks etc, in consequential train accidents during the past five years (from April 2019 to March 2024) have been assessed as Rs 313 crore,” Railways minister Ashwini

Vaishnaw said.

The minister was responding to questions on the total financial loss incurred by the government due to train accidents raised by five MPs - S Venkatesan, K Subbarayan, PC Gaddigoudar, Selvaraj V and Balwant Baswant Wankhade - from different political parties.

Responding to questions regarding the number of victims who had availed of insurance through e-tickets, Vaishnaw said 22 claims were registered under the Optional Travel Insurance Scheme during the period from November 1, 2019, to October 31, 2024.

“No death claims were registered during the period from 01.11.2019 to 31.10.2024 with any of the insurance companies under Optional Travel Insurance Scheme,” he added.

The ministry launched the scheme on September 1, 2016, for passengers who booked e-tickets at a premium of Rs 0.92 per passenger.