Indian Railways – Train Accidents: In a major step to prevent train collisions, Railway Board Chairman Satish Kumar has written to general managers of all 17 zones asking them to monitor technical reports generated by a device called a data logger on a daily basis.
A data logger is installed at stations to record real-time data on all aspects of railway operations as well as the signalling system. It generates an exception report in the event that the station master fails to take the necessary measures to ensure that a train does not pass on the same track that is already occupied by another train.
“During the safety review meeting held on September 6, 2024, I have instructed all zonal railways that the data recorder exception report should be monitored by DRMs (Divisional Railway Managers) on a daily basis and the previous day’s position of two or three divisions will be reviewed randomly at the Board level,” Kumar said in a letter dated September 13 addressed to general managers of all zones.
“On September 10, 2024, the Executive Director of Efficiency and Research (ED/E&R) requested that six divisions share the position. The position for three divisions was received; the position for two divisions was not received; and the position from the previous week for one division was received,” he added.
Expressing concern over the lack of compliance with a crucial safety instruction, Kumar said, “As this is an important measure to ensure safety, all GMs must ensure that the data logger report is monitored on a daily basis by all divisions in their zones.”
Kumar added that the Railway Board may ask two or three divisions at random to share the original printout of the data recorder report even if there is no exception report along with analysis and observations in each case.
The issue concerns General Rule No. 3.38(2) relating to operational safety ensuring that two trains do not run on the same track one after the other.
“A single railway line branches into several loop lines and one main line at any station. Now, if a branch line, say a loop line number 1, is occupied by a train, the signal for another train on that particular loop line will be red so that the other train does not pass through that line,” said KP Arya, who retired as Chief Engineer, Signals and Telecommunication/Information Technology, Northern Railway.
“But if the driver accidentally runs the red light, he could collide with the stationary train and cause an accident. To avoid this situation, a rule has been established according to which, after receiving the train on a circular track, the station master will change the interlocking to another track that is free so that, in case the driver makes a mistake, a collision does not occur,” he added.
According to Arya, if the station master fails to change the interlocking point to a free line, the data logger records this and generates an exception report.
In two recent cases of train collisions, one in Andhra Pradesh in October 2023 and another in West Bengal in June 2024, the reports of the Commissioner of Railway Safety in both cases observed that the report of data recorders showed that violations of safety norms occurred multiple times before the accidents, but the senior railway officials concerned in the division did not take note of it.
Railway experts say it is a good decision by the Railway Board chairman to ensure monitoring of data recorder reports, which will help correct errors before they result in accidents.
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