RailEnquiry

Facing an acute shortage of funds, especially for safety-related upgrade, Indian Railways has finalised a Detailed Project Report (DPR) on the matter and will take it up with the Prime Minister’s Office.Railway Minister Mukul Roy, who commissioned the report to Chairman, Railway Board, Vinay Mittal in May after the Hampi Express collided with a goods train killing 25 passengers, will speak to the PM to work out a grant on the lines of the Special Railway Safety Fund.A top railway ministry official said the Railway Board and PMO would first hold official-level talks on the DPR, followed by a meeting between the PM and Roy.At a meeting on June 13, Roy had informed the PM that his ministry would come up with a detailed report showing the exact nature of critical safety upgrade needed in the rail network and the government grant required for it. The Special Railway Safety Fund was set up with the Centre’s grant of Rs 17,000 crore during the NDA regime.Railways have been communicating to the Centre — PMO and Finance Ministry— that the last time the government infused Rs 17,000 crore for safety upgrade, Railways overachieved its committed target of reducing frequency of consequential accidents from 0.44 to 0.17 accidents per million train kilometres.