(a) Whether the Government are aware that the majority of accidents caused due to fractures in rail tracks;
(b) if so, the details thereof along with the reasons for not replacing these fractured tracks;
(c) whether these rail tracks get fractured due to inferior quality of tracks being processed by railways; and
(d) if so, the penal action is being proposed by the Government against the guilty officials of Railways and supplying agencies/firms/manufacturers of such fractured rail tracks ?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI DIGVIJAY SINGH)
(a) No, Sir, only a fraction of accidents are due to rail
fractures.
(b) Whenever rail fractures are detected, there is an
established system of repairs to track. This system is being
followed meticulously.
(c) Rail fractures occur due to many reasons like
overloading, over-speeding, flat tyres and also corrosion.
Rail fractures can also occur due to existence of
manufacturing defects and their propagation while in service.
(d) The rails are procured from Steel Authority of
India Ltd., (SAIL), a government of India Enterprise and the
only indigenous source for supply of rails in the country.
SAIL has been persuaded from time to time to effect
improvements in their production process in order to supply
still better quality of rails to Indian railways. Now with
effort put in by Railways Bhilai Steel Plant is manufacturing
rails as per specifications.