RailEnquiry

The horrifying accident involving the Bengaluru-bound Hampi Express in Andhra Pradesh (May 23) is a reminder of the lack of effective safety measures in Indian Railways’ trains. Due to lack of funds and a lengthy procurement process, the train protection and warning system has not yet been installed — a system that provides for automatic braking when a signal is overshot. If that system was in place, those people would have been alive today. Wonder whether the great Mamata Banerjee and her loyal watchdog Mukul Roy will remember how they hounded Dinesh Trivedi when he raised the fares marginally to enable Indian Railways to come out of the red primarily to tackle safety issues. Do they realise that they have blood on their hands with their populist policies that have prevented efficient upgrading of India’s largest public carrier? No compensation that Roy will grant can compensate for unnecessary lives lost — lives that were wiped out due to political expediency, not a sleepy train driver.