Economic Survey 2019: Indian Railways Safer Than Before; Zero Train Collisions, Derailments Down In 2018-19

In a major boost to railways’ safety, no incidents of train collisions were reported from anywhere in India in 2018-19, the 2019 Economic Survey has noted. Incidents of derailments have also decreased to 46 in 2018-19, from the earlier recorded 78 in 2016-17.

Indian Railways has also markedly improved its freight performance with revenue earning freight increasing by 5.33 per cent over 2017-18. Meanwhile, the number of passengers carried increased by 0.64 per cent in 2018-19 over the last year.

Railways is also working on electrifying its entire Broad Guage network to cut down on imported diesel. It has identified 38,000 km of Route Kilometres (RKM) for electrification by 2021, while 35,488 (RKM) is currently commissioned on electric traction forming 51.85 per cent of total network.

Indian Railways has also undertaken several ‘green’ initiatives, and encourages Green Certification for Workshops and Production Units in collaboration with CII. 10 railway stations along with 34 workshops and 4 production units of the Railways have acquired the certification.