Address train derailments immediately: Piyush Goyal tells officials
Following three train derailments, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday directed the railway board to undertake immediate measures to address train derailments and eliminate all the unmanned level crossings.
He also directed the board officials to expedite procurement of new rails to complete laying of tracks in pending projects and eliminate unmanned level crossings within a year.
Chairing a meeting with top Railway Board officials, the minister asked them to take up track replacement and renewal on a priority, an official said.
"The procurement of new rails should be expedited on a large scale with a view to completing construction of new lines in time," the minister was quoted as having told the officials.
Goyal also instructed the board to install anti-fog LED lights in locomotives to ensure unhindered and safe train operations during winter.
Goyal, who assumed office after the exit of his prececessor Suresh Prabhu following a string derailments, also said the process of replacing old coaches with modern LBH bogies should be speeded up.
"The Minister emphasised that safety is paramount and there cannot and should not be any compromise on this front," said the senior official.
Today,
three
trains
jumped
off
the
tracks
while
derailment
of
another
was
averted
in
Uttar
Pradesh,
New
Delhi
and
Maharashtra
within
a
span
of
nine
hours.
The
hattrick
of
derailments
was
the
first
since
Goyal
assumed
office
following
Sunday's
rejig
in
the
Union
Council
of
Ministers.
On August 20, 14 coaches of the high-speed Kalinga-Utkal Puri Haridwar Express had derailed in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar, killing at least 23 people and leaving scores injured.
PTI