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Indian Railways: Months after the deadly three-train crash in Odisha’s Balasore district that killed nearly 300 travellers, the Supreme Court on Tuesday sought to know from the Indian government about the protective steps that have been taken or proposed to be implemented, including the automatic train protection system ‘Kavach’, to prevent rail accidents in the country.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan presided over a petition addressing safety concerns related to train accidents. The court directed petitioner Vishal Tiwari to submit a copy of his plea to the Attorney General’s office.
The bench requested the Attorney General to update the court on protective measures, including the implementation status of the ‘Kavach’ scheme, and inquire about the potential financial implications of introducing this system nationwide.
“Is there any kind of exercise undertaken that how much financial implication will be there on the ‘Kavach’ system in case it is introduced on a pan-India basis,” the bench asked. “Everything has co-relation with financial aspect because ultimately the burden will be passed on to the passengers,” it observed.
The bench posted the matter for hearing after four weeks.
Tiwari told the apex court that his plea centered on public safety measures concerning train accidents.
Indian Railways manages the fourth largest railway system and the length of railway routes across India is reportedly over 68 thousand kilometers.
According to the railway ministry’s data, significant train mishaps have seen a considerable decline from 473 in 2000-01 to 135 in 2014-15, further dropping to 48 in 2022-23. Between 2004 and 2014, there was an average of 171 consequential train accidents annually, which notably decreased to an average of 71 per year from 2014 to 2023.
However, the country witnessed a devastating train disaster in June, involving a three-way collision between the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, and a goods train. This incident resulted in numerous casualties, marking one of the worst train disasters in two decades. There were concerns about a possible signaling failure contributing to this tragic crash.
The petitioner today referred to the Balasore district train accident, stressing the urgent need for a protection system to prevent train collisions, highlighting previous accidents caused by train collisions.
The plea urges the court to direct the formation of an expert commission, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, to evaluate and enhance the railway system’s safety measures. It also demands immediate guidelines for implementing the ‘Kavach’ system within Indian Railways. The petitioner attributes the non-implementation of the ‘Kavach’ system to a significant loss of lives and public property, holding the authorities accountable for negligence and a breach of duty.
Tiwari highlighted the significance of preserving the lives and safety of citizens, stressing the government’s responsibility in ensuring the same. He urged the government to provide detailed information to the apex court regarding their actions in addressing these concerns.
The plea seeks directives from the Centre to establish an expert commission, led by a retired Supreme Court judge and comprising technical experts. This commission aims to assess the risk and safety factors within the railway system, propose systematic safety enhancements, and submit its findings to the court.
The plea contends that the delay in implementing the ‘Kavach’ system has led to substantial loss of life and public property. It accuses the authorities of gross negligence and breaching their duty of care.
Additionally, it calls for immediate guidelines for the integration of the ‘Kavach’ system within the Indian Railways to ensure enhanced safety measures.
The plea urged the government to take clear steps in implementing measures to prevent railway accidents. It demanded the need to reinforce these measures to prevent future mishaps and uphold the constitutional right to life and liberty as stated in Article 21 of the Constitution.
Pointing to train accidents over the last 30 years, it said the authorities have been slow in establishing an effective safety protocol to prevent collisions and mishaps.
“The enforcement of safety mechanisms of train protection system is still not done at ground level throughout the country as it has been clearly proven that Kavach, which is an Automatic Train Protection System, was still not applied on this route…”, the plea said.
The plea said there is urgent need to promptly install the ‘kavach’ protection system, stressing that train operations should not proceed without its implementation.
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