At least four passengers have died and several are injured after the derailment of 10-12 coaches of the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express(15904), which was heading to Dibrugarh in Assam from Chandigarh. So What are the major reasons for train derailment and how much a single train accident costs the government?
The Yesterday’s Incident
The incident happened at 2.30pm on Thursday near Gonda railway station in Uttar Pradesh. Among the derailed coaches, five coaches were of the AC compartment. A 40-member medical team with 15 ambulances and the other rescue teams were rushed to the spot soon after.
The actual cause of the derailment has not been traced but the loco pilot of the train claimed that he heard a loud explosion just before the collision. The Central Government has ordered a high-level probe into the incident.
Leading Cause of Train Derailments
A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report from 2022 had said that a major factor leading to derailments is the lack of maintenance of tracks, citing the example of the Western Railway section where only 3.01% of funds being utilized for track renewal in 2019-20.
The CAG report also noted that the "lack of maintenance of track" was a factor in 171 derailment cases between 2017 and 2021 (also including goods/freight trains), along with "deviation of track parameters beyond permissible limits" in 156 cases.
How Much a Train Accident Costs the Government?
Any train accident does not only cause immense human suffering and loss, but the Indian Railways also incurs significant costs from train accidents, both in terms of direct compensation payouts to the deceased and injured, as well as the indirect costs of damage to infrastructure and disruption to operations. The cumulative losses can run into hundreds of crores of rupees.
For example, last year’s Odisha’s Coromandel Express accident, one of the deadliest rail disasters in India's history, costed more than 400 crores to the Indian Railways.
Major Train Accidents of Recent Months
11 October 2023 - 6 coaches of 12506 Anand Vihar Terminal-Kamakhya Junction North East Express derailed in Bihar killing four and injuring more than 70.
29 October 2023 - Visakhapatnam-Rayagada passenger train derailed after colliding with the Visakhapatnam-Palasa passenger in Andhra Pradesh killing at least 14 and injuring 50.
17 June 2024 - A freight train hit the Kanchanjunga Express (13174) in West Bengal. Ten people reported dead and at least 60 injured.
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