Train accidents surged 37% in FY23 despite Budget push for safety

Railway Board flagged grave safety issues in review meetings in April and May

The three-train collision in Odisha that left 275 dead and 803 injured is being seen as one of the worst accidents in independent India’s rail history, and has brought focus back on the lack of safety at the national transporter. Despite record budgetary allocations for infrastructure up­grade and safety, consequential rail accidents increased by 37 per cent in 2022-23. Many of these accidents in­vol­ved goods trains, with most not reporting casualties.

According to senior officials, a train accident is considered consequential in one or more of the three scenarios — total communications failure for over three hours after the accident