Bumpy track for railways

CHENNAI: The year 2011 was a mixed bag for the Railways that witnessed accidents, review of rail safety measures, protests, and introduction of new routes.The tragic train accident near Arakkonam that killed 11 and left 100 others injured, after a Chennai-Vellore Cantonment local collided with the Arakkonam-Katpadi passenger train in September was perhaps one of the most gruesome accidents reported in Indian Railways last year. Meanwhile, a series of train accidents, including the Arakkonam tragedy, spurred Minister of Railways Dinesh Trivedi to constitute a high-level safety review committee comprising eminent scientists to lay the roadmap on safety-related issues. The committee inspected the Flash Butt Welding Plant at Arakkonam and the ballast manufacturing unit at Tiruvalangadu, besides evaluating the efficiency of Train Protection Warning System on the Moore Market Complex and Ponneri section, in December. The year also witnessed protests by passenger associations based in Chennai and Coimbatore. The struggle by the Tamil Nadu Rail Passengers’ Rights Tribune from North Chennai to stall the reported move by the Railways to shift operation of long distance trains from Egmore to Tambaram succeeded with the Southern Railway announcing that South-bound services will continue to originate from Chennai Egmore. Similarly, the recent protests by the Coimbatore-based Railway Struggle Committee urging the operation of Kerala-bound trains through Podanur to run via Coimbatore was recognised by the Railways, as several trains have been re-routed through the Textile City over the past few months. Tamil Nadu also recorded a sharp decline in the number of crimes reported on trains with the RPF evolving a strategy to intensify the analysis on the pattern of offence. The State reported 293 crimes on trains and at railway stations till October 2011 in stark contrast to 381 during the corresponding period in 2010. The year 2011 also saw the reintroduction of the Mannargudi Express from Chennai Egmore via Mayiladuthurai. The weekly Chendur Express between Chennai Egmore and Tiruchendur was made a daily train, evoking cheer from people of the southern districts.