Lopsided priorities?

The state of the Indian Railways lay in shambles. The increasing rate of accidents on tracks has exposed the simmering vulnerabilities of the sector, which are intended to be eclipsed by the high-visibility, slim covering of “vanity projects” meant for the affluent sections of society. The death of two people due to the derailment of 18 of the 22 coaches of Howrah-CSMT Express in Jharkhand is yet another manifestation of unlearnt lessons and sheer neglect of the safety of common masses that rely on railways for long-distance travel. Just over a year ago, the nation witnessed one of the worst train accidents in its history in Odisha—leading to 290 fatalities and over 900 injuries. In the intervening period since then, different parts of the country have braced avoidable train accidents one after another. The wounds never healed before a fresh one was inflicted, and hence, the incidents need no recall—with several mishaps unfolding in the last one month itself.

While corrective measures remain non-existent, and the issue of accountability thrown to the winds, the government is trying to manage the frequent crises with compensations, condolences, and assurances of strict and time-bound investigations. The traceability of the ‘culprits’ remains elusive, because most of the accidents are a result of structural inadequacies, and not individual errors.

In the present case, the Train Manager of South Eastern Railways explained that the incident happened as a Goods Train had already derailed in the downline and Howrah-CSMT Express was moving at 120 kmph. This indicates that the Howrah-CSMT Express derailment might not have been completely unpredictable. A lot depends upon the timing of the goods train derailment, which appears to be uncertain as of now. As a nation that strives to become a symbol of resurgence at the global level and emphasises so much on technology, India cannot afford to keep losing invaluable human lives on account of simple, avoidable failures. The emphasis and priorities of the government become very crucial here.

In 2016, the Union Government merged the Railways Budget with the General Budget, and in her 2024 Union Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made just a single passing reference to the railways sector! In Union Budget FY25, the government allocated Rs 2.652 lakh crore towards capital expenditure in the railways sector—a marginal increase of roughly 2 per cent over the revised estimate for 2023-24. Positively, the budgetary allocation for enhancing safety measures of railways stands at Rs 1.08 lakh crore.

The Union Railways Minister has come under heavy criticism from the Opposition parties, and not without reasons. The Indian National Congress dubbed him as a “Fail Minister” who has, since June this year, “overseen three accidents that have cumulatively cost 17 Indians their lives and left 100s injured.” In a scathing attack, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee said: “I seriously ask: is this governance? This series of nightmares almost every week, this unending procession of deaths and injuries on railway tracks: for how long shall we tolerate this? Will there be no end to the callousness of the Government of India?” Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, in a social media post, urged the Centre to ask the Railways Minister to stop making reels and pay attention to railways. In fact, the government’s overarching emphasis on image-building vis-à-vis safety concerns has caught the ire of all opposition parties in general.

The Union Government is engaged in a range of “vanity projects”—ranging from Vande Bharat to Bullet train project and selfie booths—at exorbitant costs. The progress made in terms of Vande Bharat trains is much visible and impressive when compared to that of Vande Sadharan (Amrit Bharat) trains; while the former caters to affluent sections travelling below 800 km, the latter is intended for the general masses travelling over 800 km. The investment of money and energy in the railways sector appears to be highly lopsided, with the safety and comfort of the large chunk of long-distance travellers compromised in pursuit of luxury of another section.

One would not require academic validation for prevailing inequalities if they have a glimpse of the filthy conditions of jam packed general-class compartments—mostly 3 to five—in long distance carriers vis-à-vis the comfort of fully air-conditioned Vande Bharat trains. In case of train accidents, it is no surprise that the casualties in general compartments and sleepers would be disproportionately high. The State cannot afford to have a differential view of the life and safety of two different classes of people. The discussions around phasing down of non-AC coaches and increasing AC coaches for travelling masses have been put in the cold storage. Both the priorities are equally important and must be given balanced weightage.

While even the basic amenities and conveniences in a large chunk of Indian trains are absent, would it be too much to expect the government to expedite the process of installing anti-collision devices and other high-end technologies in most of the long-distance trains? Not necessarily, if the government sets its priorities right. The shining face of the Indian railways has to be accompanied by a stable and safe underbelly. Lopsided priorities will lead us nowhere.