'Probe into reasons of recent train derailments in progress'

The Government today said that enquiries into the reasons of recent accidents/ derailment of trains are in progress.
The Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju in a written reply in Rajya Sabha also said that Commissioner of Railway safety (CRS) is mandated to inspect and report to the central government for sanctioning new Railway lines in the country.
CRS comes under the administrative control of Civil Aviation Ministry.
"Enquiries into the reasons of recent accidents/ derailment of trains are in progress," Raju said in a written reply to a question whether CRS is responsible for recent accidents/ derailment of trains and also whether these tracks were given necessary clearance by the CRS or not.

Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) is mandated to inspect and report to the Center for sanctioning of new Railway lines in the country as per provision under Indian Railways Act of 1989 based on which the government issues sanctions for opening of new lines for public carriage, Raju said.
"Periodical inspections of old lines are also undertaken by the CRS," the minister said.

Faced with a series of derailments, Railways has been allocated in the 2017-18 Union Budget separate fund for safety upgradation of the rail network as the budget proposed an outlay of Rs 1 lakh crore for the purpose.

According to a safety report submitted to the Railway Ministry late last month, failure of Railway staff is the biggest cause behind train accidents and derailments that have led to maximum deaths and injuries to passengers.
Railway has constituted a task force on safety on December 6 last year after the derailment near Kanpur, killing 151 people.