Mallikarjun Kharge for Adoption of ‘Zero Tolerance to Accidents’ at All Levels on Indian Railways

The Minister of Railways Shri Mallikarjun Kharge has called upon all Zonal Railways to ensure ‘Zero Tolerance to Accidents’ on Indian Railways. In his message to the General Manager of all Zonal Railways, Shri Kharge said “Safety culture is essential for any organization to achieve good safety results. With sustained efforts in the last decade, Indian Railways have reduced the number of accidents per million train kilometers from 0.44 in 2003-04 to 0.13 in 2012-13. Further effort is required to make Indian Railways free of accidents.

A Policy of ‘Zero Tolerance to Accidents’ is to be adopted at all levels. This has to be achieved through a combination of improved technological aids and high quality training to improve skills of the employees.

Most of the fatalities occur in the accidents at Unmanned Level Crossings. Efforts are on to eliminate all the unmanned level crossings in the next few years. A strict time frame is to be followed and monitored by all Zonal Railways.

Special emphasis must be laid on effective inspections at every level, including night inspections. Field inspection of vulnerable places like parcel/luggage offices, etc must be undertaken with a view to minimize/eliminate hazards of fire. Loco Pilots/Assistant Loco Pilots should be monitored and counseled, paying utmost attention to their personal issues including rest, particularly home rest. Filling of vacancies in the safety category posts also should be continuously monitored.

DRMs at the divisional level and GMs at the Zonal level shall be responsible for ensuring train safety in their respective areas. Safety should take priority over all other considerations. A policy of ‘No loss of life’ should be motto and must be ingrained in the minds of all Railway employees”.

AKS/HK/BS