Rail reality : Grand projects, basic amenities missing
The Tribune Editorial: Between 36% and 44% of the passenger-amenity budget remained unspent for five consecutive years
THE Indian Railways has invested heavily in station redevelopment, but the Comptroller and Auditor General’s latest audit shows that the country’s busiest public spaces continue to fail passengers on the basics. The findings expose systemic gaps in safety, sanitation and service delivery across a network that carries 292.4 crore non-suburban passengers annually through 5,908 stations and over 7,424 daily passenger trains. The audit of 512 stations across all 16 railway zones found that 458 stations (89%) lacked one or more mandatory Minimum Essential Amenities despite Railway Board instructions requiring compliance by August 2018. Only 54 stations met the prescribed standards. Even premier NSG-1 stations such as New Delhi, Howrah and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus showed deficiencies.
