How much safe is Railway’s safety system?

Prof. M Zahidul Haque

Prof. M Zahidul Haque

India’s recent deadliest 3-way train crash killing 288 people and injuring 1000 in Odisha’s Balasore raises question on the credibility of Railway’s safety system. It has been revealed through investigation that signaling error had caused the recent train disaster. India’s Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed that the tragic train accident occurred due to a “change in electronic interlocking” system. The electronic interlocking is actually a safety measure to prevent signals from being changed in an improper sequence. This system digitally controls the movement of trains by ensuring no train gets the signal to proceed unless the track is found safe.

It was the India’s worst train accident in decades. We extend our deepest condolences and profound sympathy to those injured and to all the families concerned at this critical time of distress.

In fact, most of the railway tracks in both India and Bangladesh are age-old and built by the then British regime. True, Indian Railway has electrified their railway operation but some other infrastructure including signaling system, tracks needs overhauling for establishing a true balance between speed and safety.

I think Bangladesh should learn from India’s devastating train accident and take necessary measures to improve its infrastructure and overall management.

Let Railway remain the most reliable, comfortable, safer and cheaper means of transportation all over the world. 

(The writer recently retired as Professor and was also a former Dean of Faculty of Agriculture at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka.)