Bhubaneswar: Indian Railways is called the lifeline of the country. Lakhs depend on the Railways in India. Indian Railways is the fourth largest railway network of the world. But in recent times, frequent incidents of train accidents and derailment are making headlines.
Infact, today itself people woke up to news of train derailments in Uttar Pradesh and Odisha. In Odisha it was a goods train that derailed on the Paradeep-Cuttack route of East Coast Railway near Banabihari-Gwalipur PH, while the incident in UP was a more serious one with three people killed and another 18 injured.
Some terrible train derailments throughout the year like Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Express killing 29 and the Kalinga-Utkal Express and Kaifiyat Express, claiming more than 20 lives in each case within a span of four days, raise questions about how much attention Indian Railways gives towards maintenance of tracks to avert accidents.
Not only that, the derailment of goods trains are becoming common these days. Although it doesn’t affect life but certainly affects train traffic on the route. Sixteen coaches of a goods train carrying fertilizer derailed near Nergundi station in Cuttack district in September which made headlines in Odisha.
Odishatv.in met a few passengers at Bhubaneswar railway station to know what they feel about passenger safety in Indian Railways. We asked them, what is important, safety of passengers or high speed bullet train?
“When we travel in the railways we don’t feel safe. Proper repairing of the tracks is necessary. First priority should be given to the safety of the passengers,” said Ashok.
When asked to choose between safety and modernization in Indian Railways, another passenger Bharat said, “What will happen with bullet train! It’s only for the upper class people. We need proper facilities and our safety while travelling.”
The railways connect our vast nation. But the passengers travelling from one part of India to another are not sure about their safety during the journey.
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