Following the Utkal Express accident, the Railway Board is likely to witness a major overhaul in the next few days. Taking a serious note of the accident apparently due to the Railways’ negligence, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Monday held a meeting in this regard, but neither the Railway Minister nor any senior Railway official was called, which is being seen as an indication that some major decisions are in the offing to set the Railways’ house in order.
Meanwhile, rail traffic on the Meerut-Muzaffarnagar-Saharanpur section has been restored. Commissioner of Railway Safety, who has started a probe, said the foremost observation is that it was a human error. The PMO had been ticking off the Railways time and again over its functioning, with Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu also being apprised of it till as recently as on Saturday, when the accident happened and 23 people lost their lives.
The PMO had expressed concern earlier on several complaints over late running of trains and the poor quality of food with Prabhu being summoned on both the occasions.
Sources said that a peeved PMO discussed major changes, including at the Railway Board level, so that the Railways is administratively well controlled. The role and extension of the term of the Chairman Railway Board (CRB) AK Mital was also reportedly discussed.
Mital’s extension for two years as CRB after having served one year in a regular capacity had already created a rift within the Railway top brass, resulting in improper coordination. It continued even after Prime Minister Narendra Modi implemented the reform agenda for the national transporter, including restructuring of its Board and redistribution of work among members. The reform also saw the creation of a new post of Adviser from outside, for resource mobilization.
At the initiation of Modi, the Railways had redesignated Board Member (Mechanical) and Member (Electrical) as Member (Rolling Stock) and Member (Traction), respectively while redistributing the works. The Board was restructured with a view to streamline seamless operations as traditionally overlapping areas used to be a cause of concern and dispute and inter-departmental rivalry.
This is not the first time that the Railway Ministry has been taken to task by the PMO over its “performance”. The PM had personally taken the initiative of convening a Rail Vikas Shivir last November where Railway officers from across the country had participated and during which Modi had given the clarion call for ensuring safety of passengers. However, the same day on November 20, 2015 the worst-ever rail accident claiming 150 lives happened near Kanpur.
In its first disciplinary action pertaining to the Utkal train mishap, the Railways sent Member (Engineer), Aditya Kumar Mittal, Northern Railway General Manager RK Kulshrestha and Divisional Railway Manager (Delhi) RN Singh on leave. Mittal, a Secretary-level officer, is the senior-most functionary to be sent on leave in the wake of the accident.