One of the thrust of the railway budget presented on Wednesday has been to increase safety of passengers. Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi proposed setting up of an independent Railway Safety Authority, which will be a statutory regulatory body.
“The functions of the Authority would be worked out in greater details in line with international practices in the best interests of passenger safety,” said Mr Trivedi.
He announced setting up a special purpose vehicle Rail-Road Grade Separation Corporation of India to eliminate unmanned level crossings in next five years, where most of the accidents happen.
“More than 40 per cent of consequential train accidents, involving 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the total casualties occur at unmanned level crossings. However, funding is an issue which needs to be collectively addressed,” he said.
Mr Trivedi announced setting up a Railway Research and Development Council that will do research and development activities to enhance safety.
Mr Trivedi said he intends to complete the unfinished task of installation of Integrated Security System at 202 stations during 2012-13.
“Additionally, escorting of trains by RPF has been extended to almost 3500 trains. It is also now proposed to integrate the RPF helpline with All India Passenger Helpline to facilitate much faster response to the security needs of passengers,” he said.
He also said railways is looking to implement Train Protection and Warning System that ensures automatic application of brakes whenever a driver overshoots a signal and eliminates chances of collision.