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Outdated railway system
India has launched a $30 billion plan to modernize its railway infrastructure to boost economic development and connectivity.
But analysts say that while accidents have declined over time, India’s antiquated rail system still has a long way to go.
According to official records, an average of 20,000 people died each year in rail accidents (collisions, derailments and other causes) between 2017 and 2021.
A report by India’s Supreme Audit Institution said track defects, poor maintenance, outdated signalling equipment and human error were the main causes of the derailment.
Last year, nearly 300 people died when a passenger train collided with a stopped freight train and the derailed carriages then struck another fast-moving passenger train.
India’s worst rail accident ever occurred in 1981, when a cyclone blew a train off the tracks and into a river in Bihar state, killing 800 people and injuring more than 100.
Indian Railways is the world’s fourth largest railway network, with about 14,000 trains and 8,000 locomotives running daily on a massive track system of about 64,000 km.
These trains carry more than 21 million passengers every day.
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