The ill-fated Rajdhani Express.

The railway ministry has never given importance to the Kharagpur-Tatanagar-Rourkela section of the South-Eastern Railways. Ever since Independence this section has always been meted out a raw deal for reasons best known to the railway authorities.

Be it passenger amenities or maintenance of tracks and bridges this section of the railways have suffered a lot. Hardly any new trains have been introduced in this section in the last few years though there have been continuous demands from various organisations. Even in matters of up-keeping properties, including the railway tracks, authorities have been found wanting. After all the commuters are paying their hard-earned money to travel in trains.

For the vast majority of the population, train is the only means of communication. Perhaps the railway authorities are aware of this advantage and hence the slackness on their part. When I was the member of the zonal consultative committee of the railways I had demanded that the railway authorities come forward and construct an over bridge at the Jugsalai railway crossing. I had always pointed out to senior members of the SE Railways how important it was to have an over bridge. Unfortunately the outcome is nil. The over bridge is yet to see the light of the day.

As the member of the committee I had also verbally suggested the railway authorities to set up big iron pillars on both sides of the bridge over Subernarekha near Galudih railway station. The up line has pillars on both sides. But the down line of that bridge does not have it. If there is a minor fault and a train passes through that structure, you can just as well imagine the situation. It could well be a repetition of the Rajdhani disaster.

Talking of passenger facilities the stations are not as clean as anyone would like them to be. The local railway authorities gear up only during the visit of higher railway officials or VIPs such as ministers. They must remember that they are not doing any charity by keeping the stations clear. It is a service that we the denizens of the country pay. The people of the region have been demanding new passenger trains in the Tatanagar-Jaipur section for the last one decade or so. There are several passengers who go to Jodhpur every day. As there are no direct trains to that city, passengers are now forced to take either Purusuttom or Neelanchal Express and go to Delhi. From there they hire cars or take buses to reach Jaipur.We have also been demanding additional coaches for Purusuttom Express both AC and sleeper classes. Every time an approach is made to the authorities there is assurance that the demand would be met soon.

But it has never materialised so far. We had even suggested a change in the timing of Satabdi Express. It should depart from Howrah in the evening and reach Tatnagar by night. Similarly it should depart from Tatanagar in the morning. If this happens a lot of businessmen can reach Calcutta quickly. But railway officials never took the matter seriously.

The kind of accident that happened with the New Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express near Gaya on Monday night always serves as an eye-opener. Whether it was an accident or an act of sabotage is yet to be ascertained, but the Indian Railways always goes for a fresh exercise of verifying its safety measures once a mishap of such magnitude takes place.

Soon after the accident took place, the Railway Board set up an enquiry committee to find out the reasons behind the derailment of the super-fast train. But we are also not ruling out the possibilities of sabotage.

I have reasons to believe that the accident of Rajdhani Express may be an act of sabotage. This is because chances of fishplates missing is the rarest of rare thing to happen in view of safety measures taken by the railways for the particular track on which the Rajdhani Express runs. The track, as well as the engines and boggies, are checked every day by separate teams of experts before the train departs for its destination. Several mechanical gadgets are replaced everyday even though they are in working condition. Besides, the speed-limit of the trains are maintained while passing through bridges and vulnerable spots.

In view of the safety measures adopted by the railways, especially for important trains like Rajdhani Express, such accidents like the one that took place near Gaya is not possible. Therefore, I feel there may be some other reason behind it.

Extremism is an issue that is supposed to be dealt by the state government concerned. The railways can only suggest measures and recommend proposals for curbing the menace.

There are several extremist-prone zones within my jurisdiction and we have to take the civil administration’s help to keep the rebels at bay. I expect the civil administration to monitor activities of extremists in my area on a regular basis so that the railway tracks, as well as the trains, can be protected.

Recently, the extremists had seized a railway station in Dhanbad division and had attempted to derail a passenger train by putting big slabs on the track. But fortunately, the train driver had spotted the slabs from a considerable distance and had stopped the train in time. There would have been huge casualty if the driver had not stopped the train. Since Chakradharpur railway division has been the hub of extremist activities for the past two years, a possible rebel attack cannot be ruled out. If extremists had removed the fishplates on the tracks near Gaya, the Rajdhani Express mishap must have boosted their morale. In such circumstances, this becomes a primary job of the civil administration to ensure that there is no danger to railway property in any part of the country.

I do not say that the railways do not have any responsible for any mishap caused by extremists but that the staff posted in responsible posts is well aware that they are working in an extremist-infested zone. I can say that the railway staff is always ready to take up the challenge boldly.