Avoidable negligence

A casual surfer on the net would not be able to recognise the Indian Railways under Suresh Prabhu: a separate railway budget is history, soon private companies will run slick express trains, line surveys for fast trains are on in every part of India, a gourmet platter is a click away and many stations will take on a glitzy avatar under private ownership. This vision clashes with the ground reality revealed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India: surveys are not leading to anywhere; there is excreta in food; railway beddings are storehouses of infections; and, as Junaid Khan’s lynching and the Rs 10 lakh theft in Rajdhani Express showed, even a valid traveller feels his safety is compromised.  

As Prabhu strives to paint the railways in the vivid colours of the free market, the basics are being neglected. The Railway Minister has done well by sending three of the top brass on leave, besides suspending several officers down the line. The audio clip and the tools found at the accident site have made it clear that non-communication between two railway departments allowed an express train barrel over an under-repair track at over 100 kmph with predictable consequences. However, the first reflex action of trying to brush the real cause under the carpet was not encouraging. Before an audio clip emerged to nail the negligence of the staff, the conversation on social media was being pushed into the direction of a sabotage theory, as has been the case with recent accidents. 

Amidst all the talk of turning around the railways, the angry wall writing in the marshalling yards reflects a workforce in a state of mental agitation. The government has claimed a quantum leap in rail sector infrastructure over the past three years. Its surveys speak of a satisfaction spike in railway services. Mr Prabhu is entitled to get captivated by his drum beat. But for the ordinary person, train travel is still an ordeal, slowly getting expensive, and unsafe in the bargain. The staff and the common travelling public need equal attention along with the overseas purveyors of fancy train sets.