Raillway division looks into safety

In the wake of the recent fire mishaps on trains, the Mysore Division of the South Western Railway has constituted a team of senior officers of the division to go into all the facets of fire safety on trains.

Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Rajkumar Lal who inspected the railway stations on Thursday, constituted the team comprising of senior officers from the mechanical, electrical and safety departments to go into all the facets of fire safety on trains with intensive inspections of the entire fleet of passenger coaches on the system as he said that safety of passengers cannot be an afterthought.

He directed the officials to launch a month-long safety drive on the existing mechanism in trains to deal with fire accidents and the level of preparedness of staff concerned.

During the course of his inspection, the DRM instructed the staff to lay special emphasis on putting in place all safeguards needed to counter fire accidents on trains, including those caused by electrical malfunctions.

He asked the Railway Protection Force to step up vigil to prevent anyone from carrying explosives and other inflammable and dangerous goods on passenger trains. Higher levels of efficiency and advanced training of staff with zero tolerance for accidents cannot be over-emphasised, he said, urging rail users to co-operate with the Railways for ensuring safety on trains and not transport dangerous goods with them.

Ramkumar Lal also instructed those concerned to pay attention to sanitation in stations and on trains which, he said, largely reflect upon the image of the organisation as a premier transportation agency in the country.

The DRM inspected stations on the main line of Mysore Division from Chikjajur Jn. to Hubli with focus primarily on the various safety aspects. He was accompanied by branch heads of safety, mechanical, electrical, operating, works, commercial and security departments.