Title - CPI-M says train mishap highlights lack of safety measures

New Delhi: Terming as tragic the death of 32 passengers of Tamil Nadu Express, the CPI(M) on Monday said the incident highlights absence of adequate safety measures in Railways.

The party said it was shocking that there was no mechanism in place to deal with such an occurrence which led to spreading of the fire to the whole compartment while the passengers were asleep.

"The tragic death of 30 passengers in a sleeper coach in Tamil Nadu Express due to an electric short circuit once again highlights absence of adequate safety measures in Indian Railways," the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said in a statement.

Demanding the Prime Minister's intervention in the affairs of Indian Railways which was being "mismanaged", the party said, "The upkeep of trains and safety checks and monitoring seem to be the least priority for the present incumbent of the Railway Ministry."

Thirty-two train passengers were charred to death and 25 others injured when a fire broke out in a coach of the New Delhi-Chennai Tamil Nadu Express near Nellore in Andhra Pradesh in the wee hours today.