Railways sets up expert panel on safety as mishaps mount

Stung into action by the increasing number of train accidents over the past year or more, the government on Friday set up a safety review committee comprising experienced technocrats in applied technology to review the railways' safety systems and prepare a plan for plugging loopholes.

The panel will be chaired by Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar and include Dr N Vedachalam of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Prof Sanjay Dhande, director of the Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur), and G P Srivastava, director of the E&I group at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.

E Sreedharan, managing director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corp, will act as advisor to the panel, according to a government press release.

"The high-level committee will conduct an audit of all safety aspects and submit its report within three months," railway minister Dinesh Trivedi said in New Delhi. He said this was part of a government effort towards "zero tolerance" on railway safety issues.

There have been at least 57 accidents just since April this year, including major passenger-carrying trains like the Howrah-Kalka Mail and Mathura Chhapra Express mishaps in July, which claimed 70 and 30 lives respectively.

Based on the accidents and their consequences witnessed in the recent past, the committee would examine signalling systems, rolling stock, fixed structures like tracks, bridges and overhead extensions, and human resources.