Emergency: Break Glass

On Mamata’s Watch...

• July 19, ’10: The Uttarbanga Express rams into Vananchal Express, killing 67
• June 18, ’10: The Amravati Express derails near Koppal,  leaving 27 injured
• June 4, ’10: The Coimbatore-Mettupalayam special train hits minibus at an unmanned crossing near Coimbatore. Five killed.
• May 28, ’10: The Gyaneshwari Express collides with a goods train in West Bengal, killing 149
• Jan 2, ’10: The Lichchavi Express rams into the stationary Magadh Express at the station in Etawah, injuring 10
• Jan 2, ’10: The Gorakhdham Express and the Prayagraj Express collide near Kanpur, killing five and injuring 40
• Nov 14, ’09: 15 coaches of the Jodhpur-Delhi Mandor superfast express derails near Jaipur, killing seven people
• Oct 20, ’09: Goa Express rams into a stationary Mewar Express near Mathura, leaving 22 dead

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This latest in a series of train accidents—there have been 10 collisions and 80 derailments since Mamata Banerjee took over 14 months ago as Union railway minister—has raised questions about the minister’s performance and her preference for the politics of her home state to her responsibilities at the Centre. This is because important projects—such as the installation of anti-collision devices (ACDS), which could have prevented these accidents—haven’t moved the way they should have. The ACD project, though, has been hanging fire since 2007.

What has galled many is the political spectacle at the accident spot that she both created and joined in with the CPI(M) and the state unit of her Trinamool Congress. Mamata, her party’s leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal assembly, Partho Chatterjee, and the state finance minister, Asim Dasgupta, were trying to outdo each other in announcing compensation for the victims’ relatives. Her party functionaries cried “sabotage”, while the ruling CPI(M) alleged negligence and demanded her resignation. One observer said they were all trying “more to be seen there than really care”.

Those fielding the sabotage theory, with Mamata and her party, point to some unanswered questions:

• Why was the Uttarbanga Express at close to 90 kmph in a 30 kmph speed limit zone, especially when there was a scheduled stop at Sainthia?
• Why did the driver and his assistant ignore two stop signals?
• If there was a brake failure, why did they not apply emergency brakes?
• Could it be that the drivers were incapacitated by saboteurs, either by poisoning or other means, before Sainthia?

Vivek Sahai, chairman of the Indian Railway Board, suggests—without ruling out sabotage—that it might have been human error: the drivers may have missed the red light. “What is of concern is the increase in the number of incidents caused due to sabotage,” he says, as if to emphasise the minister’s theory. “We have had five such cases this year.”

Mamata’s detractors, on the other hand, question her efficiency and intent, wondering why basic safety measures were not in place. They ask, for instance, why an interlocking system that would have diverted the speeding train to another track was not in operation. They are also critical of the minister introducing many new trains without bothering much about safety measures.

While announcing the railway budget earlier this year, Mamata had laid special emphasis on the upgradation of signalling and track systems to make train travel safer. However, little has actually been done: several project proposals are awaiting her clearance. “The ACD system has been implemented on 2,000 km of the Northern Railway. But it’s required across the country and can be done only if the minister clears the project. Konkan Railways have modelled the device for the entire country,” says a railway official. The ACD system allows communication between trains and lets them know their location and speed in a radius of 3 km. If two trains come dangerously close, the system automatically activates the braking system.

Apart from better technology, manpower is in shortage: the railways has 90,000 vacancies in security- and safety-related posts. A large number of small accidents have taken place at unmanned crossings in the past year. “The minister has over 500 files on her table waiting for clearance every month and with her not here, they pile up,” says a senior railway official. “Unlike the earlier minister (Laloo Prasad Yadav), she has no officer specially devoted to helping her with her work at the ministry, so all projects, from the freight corridor to safety measures, are suffering. While the cause of this latest incident is still not clear, safety, signalling and track upgradation across the railway network is being delayed.”

The Centre, too, seems to be distancing itself from the minister. This is the second incident in which it has differed with Mamata on the cause of an accident. While the minister suggested sabotage, the ministry said it was system failure. This also happened two months ago, when the Jnaneshwari Express collided with a goods train in West Bengal, leaving 149 people dead. The two incidents have also taken the death toll in train accidents this year to 250.

Another factor working against Mamata is the comparisons to Laloo Prasad Yadav. The number of accidents since she took over the ministry has gone up compared to when the voluble rjd chief was in charge. During his tenure from 2005-09, the number of accidents came down by 50 per cent and fewer than 50 people had died. Over 250 people have died and 700 injured since Mamata took over. Also it was under Laloo that projects such as the freight corridor, implementation of ACD and newer signalling and track systems were introduced.

So while investigations are still on to find out what exactly happened inside the engine of the Uttarbanga Express in the minutes before the accident, it is evident that the minister’s absences are affecting the running of the railways. This is something well known in the corridors of power in Delhi.

By Amba Batra Bakshi and Dola Mitra