Experts say disregard for rules to maintain train punctuality puts lives in jeopardy

New Delhi: A recent incident in which a collision was averted between a passenger train and a freight train, both moving on the same track towards each other near the Khurja City station in Uttar Pradesh, has exposed a complete disregard for basic safety norms by railway staff in an attempt to maintain train punctuality, according to experts.

The incident occurred on December 29, 2025, and on January 2, the railway ministry transferred the divisional railway manager of the Moradabad division, under which the Khurja City station falls, while the staff involved in the incident were sent for training after a brief period of suspension.

Experts said the incident highlighted a disregard for rules, poor record-keeping and inadequate shift handover procedures between station masters, leading to a critically-unsafe situation for train operations. The incident took place around 8 pm on December 29, when Rinku Tomar, the on-duty station master at Khurja City, allowed a freight train coming from Khurja Junction to enter his section.

As there is a single line between the two stations, only one train can be allowed to operate at a time. While the freight train was on its way to Khurja City, Tomar’s shift ended and the station master who relieved him, Ranveer Singh, was not aware that a train was approaching the station.

Meanwhile, a passenger train was waiting at the Khurja City station to depart towards Khurja Junction.

“As it is a single-line section, if the line is occupied by a train, the signal will remain red so that another train cannot enter from the Khurja City station towards Khurja Junction,” an official said.

Singh thought the signal was not working and asked a signal maintainer to manually change it from red to green so that the passenger train could depart without any delay.

According to a preliminary probe report, both loco pilots stopped their trains at a safe distance of 433 metres from each other, thereby avoiding a collision. The report held both the station masters and the signal maintainer responsible for the incident.

Officials said rules do not allow the first station master, Tomar, to be relieved of duty until all trains he has allowed to enter the section have arrived, even if his duty hours are over.

Besides, they said he was supposed to make an entry in the Train Signal Register (TSR), which serves as a handover record for the incoming station master.

“The second station master, who took over the shift, also failed to exercise due diligence and did not attempt to verify whether the line was occupied. He asked the signal maintainer to set the signal to green, without completing the required formalities. Even the signal maintainer failed to ask for a failure memo before changing the signal,” another official said.

Safety experts and former station masters said the lapse exposed multiple shortcomings, including the pressure to maintain the punctuality of passenger trains, leading to short-cut measures, and rising vacancies that keep the safety staff under constant pressure.

“The second station master, Singh, stated in his written submission that he was on leave as his son was unwell. However, he was called at 10:30 am on December 29 and asked to report to duty at 7 pm. This shows how station masters are forced to cut short their leave, not attend urgent family matters and other important personal commitments to join duty,” said Virendra Kumar Paliwal, a retired station master who has raised concerns about staff vacancies and work stress in the railways.