Question : RAILWAY SAFETY REVIEW COMMITTEE

(a) whether a high level Railway Safety Review Committee had recommended various measures including setting up of Railway Safety Authority, creation of a non-lapsable Railway Security Fund etc;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with the major recommendations of the Committee;

(c) whether the Railways have accepted the recommendations of the said Committee ;

(d) if so, the details of the recommendations that have been accepted along with the action taken by the Railway against each of the accepted recommendation and if not, the reasons therefor ;

(e) whether paucity of funds is one of the major reasons for slow progress in taking up the measures that enhance the safety of Railway employees, passengers, goods and at Railway Stations, ROBs, RUBs, etc; and

(f) if so, the details of the steps taken/being taken by the Railways to generate funds for improving railway security?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY)

(a) Yes, Madam.

(b) A High Level Safety Review Committee was constituted by Ministry of Railways on 16.09.2011 under the Chairmanship of Dr. Anil Kakodkar, former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission to go into all technical and technology related aspects in connection with safe running of train services in the country. The Committee has submitted its Report to Ministry of Railways on 17.02.2012. The Kakodkar Committee has made 106 recommendations in their Report covering the following aspects: General Safety Matters, Organizational structure, Empowerment at Working Level, Safety related works and issues, Vacancies in critical safety categories and Manpower Planning issues, Shortage of Critical Safety Spares, External Interferences – Encroachment and Sabotage, Signaling, Telecommunication and Train Protection, Rolling Stock, Track, Bridges, Level Crossings, Human Resource Development with emphasis on Education and Training, Training Institutes on Indian Railways (IR) and Eco-System on Indian Railways and Safety Architectures on IR.

(c) & (d) The recommendations of the Committee are under examination.

(e) & (f) After the recommendations of the Committee are examined and accepted, the actual requirement of funds for implementing them will be assessed. However, safety has always been accorded the highest priority by the Railways. The total expenditure on safety related activities has progressively increased from Rs 30,656 crore in 2009-10 to Rs 38,762 crore (BG) in 2012-13. Several measures including rationalisation of freight and fare rates have been taken by railways recently to enhance revenue generation for meeting safety related requirement.