GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS HIGH LEVEL SAFETY REVIEW COMMITTEE Shri Dinesh Trivedi Hon’ble Minister of Railways, Government of India Dear Sir, Submission of Report We are happy to submit the report of High Level Safety Review Committee appointed by Railway Ministry to review safety of our railway system and recommend measures to make improvements. Indian Railways is one of the largest railway system which has served people of India well over a period of time. The demands on the system are rapidly growing without commensurate investments for upgradation of technology and modernization consistent with modern times. 2. Within the limited time available, we have examined various aspects relevant to safety on the Indian Railway system. While detailed recommendations are given in the report, an important recommendation is on creation of a Railway Safety Authority as a statutory safety regulator duly backed up by professional inputs from within and outside at multiple levels. 3. We estimate that implementation of the recommendations made by the Committee would need an outlay of around Rs. 100,000 crores in the next 5 years. We strongly suggest that the recommendations should get implemented in a time-bound manner with required resources mobilized and dedicated towards implementation of individual recommendations. We thank you for the opportunity given to us in undertaking this important assignment. Executive Summary Indian Railways is one of the largest railway systems in the world and is fully owned and operated by Ministry of Railways, Government of India. It plays a significant role in driving economic growth of the country, offering highly affordable, environment- friendly transportation to passengers and freight, specially bulk commodities, across the country. Indian Railways, like any other transportation system, is technology intensive not only for ensuring high productivity of its assets but also safety in train operations. 2. Though the data of consequential train accidents over the years has been showing declining trend despite phenomenal growth of traffic, safety on IR remains to be a matter of serious concern. Recent accidents such as derailment of Kalka Mail near Fatehpur on 10.07.2011 resulting in death of 71 passengers and injuries to 264 passengers raise an alarm over the safety standards and practices adopted on Indian Railways. Taking note of the unsatisfactory safety record of IR, the Hon’ble Minister of Railway set up a High Level Safety Review Committee vide MOR’s Notification No. ERB- I/2011/23/37 dated 16-09-2011. 3. During its 5 months of existence the Committee carried out a critical overview of Indian Railway functioning. Present environment on Indian Railways reveals a grim picture of inadequate performance largely due to poor infrastructure and resources and lack of empowerment at the functional level. Present form of railway organization is more centralized, top- heavy and hierarchical along departmental lines much to the detriment of a functional and objective oriented organization. The commitment and passion of its strong workforce of 13.62 lakhs though commendable has done little to translate into productive action due to present environment. The Committee has given several recommendations having no financial implications to empower the functional levels and to simplify processes and procedures to deal with this negative feature. IR has to be energized with a new type of work culture. i 4. The financial state of Indian Railways is at the brink of collapse unless some concrete measures are taken. Passenger fares have not been increased in the last decade during which many passenger carrying trains were introduced on the existing overloaded infrastructure. This has strained the infrastructure way beyond its limit and all the safety margins have been eaten up pushing Indian Railways to a regime of adhocism in infrastructure maintenance. The Committee has strongly recommended to stop such practice of introduction of new trains without commensurate inputs to the infrastructure. 5. There is no practice of independent safety regulation by an independent agency separate from operations. The Railway Board has the unique distinction of being the rule maker, operator and the regulator, all wrapped into one. Commissioners of Railway Safety though considered to be the safety watchdogs have negligible role at the operational level. Compliance of safety standards set by Railways for themselves are often flouted for operational exigencies. The Committee has recommended a statutory Railway Safety Authority (RSA) and a safety architecture which is powerful enough to have a safety oversight on the operational mode of Indian Railways without detaching safety with the railway operations. The Committee has also recommended measures to strengthen the present Railway Safety Commission to undertake meaningful regulatory inspections. 6. Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) which is the present apex technical wing of Indian Railways is highly constrained due to several reasons. This has hampered the ability of the system to internalize new emerging technologies and indigenous development has not progressed consistent with today’s needs. The Committee has examined the present state of affairs and also the countrywide practices in promoting research and development in technology specific industries similar to Indian Railways. The Committee has recommended a Railway Research and Development Council (RRDC) to be set up at the apex level directly under the Government. This Council will have Advance Railway ii Research Institute (ARRI) and 5 Railway Research Centers, for key safety related railway disciplines such as rolling stock, signaling and telecommunications, motive power, tracks and bridges and operations management. Present form of RDSO is recommended for restructuring on the lines of other similar research institutions with appropriate empowerment. The entire research eco-system will have representatives from eminent technologists / scientists from outside appropriately to make research and technology development vibrant which is essential for Indian Railways in the long run. 7. Line capacity has been severely constrained due to introduction of more and more trains over the years. No technical aid is yet available on Indian Railways to run trains during foggy weather which adversely affect train operations during winter season of 2 to 3 months in northern India. Disturbance to running track due to rail / weld breakages and sabotages which have gained prominence during recent times present unsafe conditions. Necessary time for infrastructure maintenance is getting compromised and the casualties of Railways’ own workmen while on duty is on increase because of constrained working during scarce maintenance period. The Committee deliberated on all these issues which have become very prominent on Indian Railways in the present context and attempted to come out with a single solution which could address all the above concerns. The Committee has strongly recommended to adopt an advanced signaling system based on continuous track circuiting and cab signaling similar to European train control system Level-II on the entire trunk routes of about 19000 route kilometers at an estimated cost of 20,000 crores within 5 years. This will be a quantum jump in modernizing the signaling system which is badly needed. The Committee has further recommended to complete this work within 5 years by forming an independent Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for execution and an expert group for addressing technical issues if any coming up during implementation. iii 8. Casualties in accidents at level crossings is a matter of concern. Level crossings not only contribute to a large chunk of accidents and casualties of road users but are also a drag on train operation limiting line capacity. These also cost dearly to Indian Railways for their operation and maintenance. Advance Warning safety equipments earlier tried at level crossings have failed due to thefts. The Committee, therefore, has recommended total elimination of all level crossings (manned and unmanned) within 5 years at an estimated cost of Rs. 50,000 crores which will get recovered over 7-8 years due to saving in operation and maintenance costs and improved train operation. The gigantic project will also need setting up of a dedicated and empowered SPV for each Railway zone to accomplish this task within a 5 year period. 9. ICF design of coaches have seen Indian Railways through in the past years till operating speeds were low and formations were short. With the Introduction of long formation of trains running at moderately high speed of 110 to 120 Kmph, use of ICF design coaches is not desirable from safety point of view. The latest design of LHB coaches are far safer and secure to bear the impact loads arising out of accident scenarios. The Committee has therefore recommended to stop production of ICF design coaches and completely switch over to manufacture of LHB design coaches immediately. Commensurate facilities in production units, workshops and open line coaching depots have also been recommended. 10. The Committee has given several recommendations for improvement in maintenance diagnostic, measurement and maintenance practices for safety related infrastructure such as track, rolling stock, signaling, etc. and commensurate financial implications have also been included in the report. 11. The Committee is seized of the very tight financial conditions of Indian Railways. Some of the recommendations of the Committee need investment totaling to the tune of Rs. 1 lakh crore over 5 years period. The Committee has also recommended the funding mechanism by which Rs. 20,000 crores per annum should be raised for implementing iv the recommendations. Funding methodology includes creation of a non- fungible non-lapsable safety fund generated through safety cess on passengers of different classes in a graded manner. 12. IR suffers from ‘IMPLEMENTATION BUG’. Implementation of accepted recommendations of the previous safety committees has been a major issue. The Committee has recommended an empowered group of officers in Railway Board to pilot the implementation of the recommendations in a time bound manner with full funding. The Committee has also recommended the review of implementation of recommendations by the new statutory outfit of Railway Safety Authority under Government of India. ****** v