Condoling the deaths of over 100 passengers in the Indore-Patna rail accident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asked railways to work towards achieving the zero accident target to make train journeys safe. Speaking at the Rail Vikas Shivir, Modi said derailment of the train at Kanpur Dehat will be duly probed.
Describing the accident as “unfortunate”, Modi asked railway officials to ensure fool-proof system in train operation to achieve zero-accident target. The Prime Minister, who spent more than two hours at the concluding event of the three day Rail Vikas Shivir at Surajkund, was given thematic presentations on various aspects of the railways and later addressed and interacted with the railway officers. He also visited the gallery created for showcasing railways’ new initiatives.
Night vision camera developed by the railways to help loco pilots, a new faster and lighter mode of transportation called Caterpillar train, water vending machines, food box to keep food hot in rail premises, green initiatives like harnessing solar and wind energy were among those exhibited at the gallery.
The extensive Shivir, organised to generate innovative yet practical ideas in the most crucial areas of rail operations and chart out a roadmap for substantial progress of the sector, concluded today.
On the opening day, Modi had addressed railway employees via video conferencing and said the Indian Railways should transform with the change of the century and focus on “new speeds, progress and new capacity” along with gaining financial strength.
The venue was divided into various areas named after iconic trains services like Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Humsafar, Tejas, Gatimaan, Uday, Antyodaya and Jan Shatabdi. Making Indian Railways preferred freight carrier in India, reducing the operational cost, improving non-tariff revenue and increasing the investment in rail infrastructure substantially were among other issues taken up during the event though the accident cast a spell on the participants, according to sources.