Odisha train crash: Numerous issues were noted in an audit report from the previous year

While Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge cited the Parliamentary Standing Committee’s 323rd report, which criticised the railways for the “disregard” shown by the railway board towards the recommendations of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS), Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw claimed on Sunday that the “root cause” of the fatal triple train accident in Odisha’s Balasore district had been identified.

According to reports, CRS only looks into 8% to 10% of incidents. So why wasn’t CRS reinforced, he questioned. “Nearly seven out of ten railway accidents between 2017–18 and 2020–21 were caused by train derailments, according to the most recent CAG audit report. The East Coast Railway did not test Rail and Weld (Track Maintenance) for safety from 2017 to 21. The president of Congress questioned, “Why was it disregarded?

The Comptroller and Auditor General blamed Indian Railways’ engineering division for the majority of derailments in its 2022 report, “Derailment in Indian Railways.” It also advised the national carrier to create a strong monitoring system to guarantee the prompt execution of maintenance tasks.

What was said in the CAG report?
1. According to the CAG, inadequate track maintenance, excessive speed, and mechanical failure were major causes of derailments in the audit for 2017–18 to 2020–21.

2. Inspections by Track Recording Cars, which were necessary to evaluate the geometrical and structural characteristics of railway tracks, had deficiencies ranging from 30 to 100%.

3. Blocks not provided by the operating department (32%), blocks not prepared by divisions (30%), operational issues (19%), personnel shortages (5%), and lack of a work scope (3%), were all seen as reasons for the idling of track machines.

4. An analysis of 1,129 “Inquiry Reports” from derailment incidents in 16 Zonal Railways identified 24 causes of derailments in the cases/accidents that were chosen. In these instances, 32.96 crore in damages and asset losses were recorded as total.

5. The ‘engineering department’ was responsible for a total of 422 derailments. ‘Maintenance of track’ (171 incidents) and ‘deviation of track characteristics above legal limits’ (156 occurrences) were the leading causes of derailment.

6. The’mechanical department’ was responsible for 182 of the derailments. The main contributor (37%) to the variables causing derailments was “wheel diameter variation and defects in coaches/wagons.”

7. The ‘loco pilots’ were responsible for 154 mishaps. Bad driving and excessive speeding were the main causes of derailments.

8. The ‘operation department’ was responsible for 275 accidents. 84% of the errors were related to incorrect point setup and other shunting activities.

9. The ‘inquiry reports’ were not sent to the accepting authority within the allotted time frame in 63% of the instances. The acceptance of the findings by accepting authorities took longer in 49% of the instances.

10. In contravention of current standards, 27,763 coaches (62%) lacked fire extinguishers.