About 16 per cent of the posts dedicated to ensuring safety are vacant in Railways, which has seen more than 400 mishaps in the past four years, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
There are 7.54 lakh safety-related posts in railways across 17 zones out of which 1.25 lakh are unoccupied, the Ministry of Railways said in a statement the Upper House.
It told the House that 455 rail mishaps have taken place since 2013, 95 of which occurred in 2016-2017.
Following inquiries into these accidents, the railways "removed/dismissed 118 officials" and 500 personnel were penalised in the past four years.
A safety audit by an independent task force under the chairmanship of former CAG Vinod Rai is underway, it said.
About 190 people were killed in three rail mishaps between November last year and January.
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