I really envy media persons, because they are, in a way, real competitors to railway men.
As also in the case of railways they are guys who have to deliver every day. But then their organisations also takes leaves; there are at least two holidays when you box on the front page- there will be no edition tomorrow.
Indian Railways does not have such luxuries, to the contrary - during holidays we run extra trains- we call them holiday specials.
It’s really tough being a journalist. You have to deliver on a daily basis- that many centimeters of columns, that many minutes of footage. Ultimately a paper has to have that many pages everyday and TV has to have content for 24 hours every day.
Railway accidents are very news worthy- it is indeed very rare that a railway accident misses media coverage. Visually it is spectacular; you can get captivating sound bytes. The details of the accident and related issues cover up the cms, minutes very quickly. Then there is no dearth of ‘experts’, who can give enough bytes.
Apart from media others also jump at the rail accident. The powers that be start the compensations game- everyone gets to show that they are concerned- whether they are the centre functionaries or the state.
One wonders why the same types of compensations are not offered for road accidents. Maybe one will eventually get tired given the spectacularly larger numbers. Then there are the district and police administration, the villagers- everyone becomes an expert on trains.
Indian Railways is deeply embedded in the psyche of Indians. If one has not seen a train, it is a dream to see one. Thus the severe criticism which follows after every accident reflects the trust and expectation which the nation has on us.
When you talk about a certain phenomenon or entity, it is always with reference to a particular framework in which you are.
Truth about the phenomenon is never absolute; truth is a function of the framework in which you observe it. Accidents are also no exception.
The truth being created that Railways is unsafe and it is breaking apart is not correct. You have to step back and see the larger picture of the economy and nation to understand. If, unfortunately, the yardstick is how many people are getting killed, then roads are killing more people by whatever yardstick. And running a train is definitely much more complex operation than running trucks on road.
However, unlike roads, the railways as a system are very tightly designed with safety being the core principle.
Take example of Level Crossing accidents. To understand Level Crossing accidents, which claim a high level of casualty and are attributed to Railways, let’s get into a 100 tonnes locomotive hauling a 1200 tonnes express train at speeds of up to 110kmph. Such a train carrying more than 1500 passengers in 24 coaches takes minimum of one km to stop- even after emergency brakes are applied.
Yes, you read it right, one km the train will drag on the tracks before it comes to halt, probably jeopardising the lives and limbs of 1500 passengers in the process.
As a driver if I see a vehicle less than a km infringing on the track, even if I apply emergency brakes the train cannot stop in time and WILL hit the vehicle. So what do you do? You pray. You remember all your gods and pray.
You remember all your good deeds and pray. Pray for the reckless people who are trying to act superman. No, suicidal.
It is simply impossible for Railways to stop Level Crossing gate accident if the road user tries to beat a train.
When a road vehicle driver tries to infringe on a level crossing- unmanned level crossing specially - he doesn't realise that he is against a 1200 ton train with momentum thousands of times that of his car.
Why is it that the Railways should be blamed for reckless behaviour of road users? Level crossing is fixed, the track is fixed- a train cannot suddenly come out of trenches and hit a car.
You know its presence very well, you see it, and you hear it.
There are instructions and they are being followed to the dot - that the driver of the train will horn on the approach of the Level Crossing gate.
We have a system of whistle board along the tracks which indicates to the driver that after a km a level crossing gate is going to come and it is, believe me, 100% followed.
So much so that we get complaints from the neighbourhood that the drivers whistle excessively. Norms for visibility at the level crossings are being meticulously followed - incoming and outgoing gradients, design of the approach road, etc.
But then there is no norm for checking the suicidal tendencies of a reckless road user whose time has come.
The writer is Press Advisor (CRB) / PRO ( NHSRCL) and the views expressed in the article are his own.