Rlys should care more for passenger safety

The recent railway accident of Seemanchal Express in Bihar has yet again exposed vulnerabilities of a train travel in India. It is disheartening to note the fatal casualties every time an accident occurs and also the administration's lack of preparedness to rush immediately to the accident spot of any accident.

At a time when Indian Railways is gearing up to launch high density trains like Train 18 and adding more number of premier trains like the recently launched Mumbai Rajdhani Express; has kept the common man guessing as to what extent the safety is taken care of while only focusing on high end passengers.

It is ironical to note that the ticket paying passenger needs to shell out additional money in the guise of reservation, supplementary, superfast charges, dynamic fares and tatkal fares to travel by any of the trains. Yet the passengers are vulnerable and face hostility when it comes to safety aspect while travelling by trains.

It is high time now that the railway administration focus highly on safety aspect by duly investing necessary manpower and pumping adequate funds. Safety department too should be empowered to tackle related issues at the divisional level itself by expanding the resources. Adequate safety related infrastructure like ambulance, fire vans and railway medical relief vans should be immediately provided in high numbers at each of the nearby railway stations across the country.

Further the Ministry should focus highly on investing much of the aspects related to passenger comfort, safe travel and reasonable fares. The recent proposal to hike fares for some trains on point to point basis on the lines of dynamic fares- a move to gain revenue from ticket subsidies offered- needs to be reviewed to be dropped and instead the focus should be shifted to safety -in the best interest of passengers.

- Varun S D, Bengaluru