train derailed

Taiwan Train Crash Kills 18 in Deadliest Rail Tragedy in Decades

‘Four carriages overturned in the crash, which occurred in Yilan County near the coast on a line popular among tourists when all eight cars ran off the tracks on a bend near a station.’

Taipei: Eighteen people died and 175 were injured when a train derailed in northeastern Taiwan on Sunday, authorities said, in the island’s worst rail disaster in more than three decades.

Four carriages overturned in the crash, which occurred in Yilan County near the coast on a line popular among tourists when all eight cars ran off the tracks on a bend near a station, officials said.

It was unclear what caused the crash. As of 9:35 p.m. (1335 GMT), all 366 passengers onboard – including the dead and injured – had been evacuated or removed from the wreckage, the Taiwan Railways Administration said.

“The train was going very fast. I thought to myself: Why was it not slowing down on a curve?” 30-year-old Henry Tseng, who was onboard one of the overturned carriages and suffered eye injuries, told Reuters. “I hit a wall when the car started to flip. Around five to six people were thrown out of the carriage door…There’s no time to think what happened. Everyone was in a rush to get out,” he added.

Hundreds of rescuers and military personnel worked through the wreckage with spotlights on Sunday night in search of survivors, with ambulances stationed nearby.

Rescue workers, some attending to injured people at the scene, used cranes to lift the battered cars, some of which were lined in a zigzag pattern near the tracks.

“Check there, check there,” several rescuers shouted while lifting a deformed car with a crane to look for survivors. Some rescuers climbed onto the top of an overturned carriage which had hit a pole carrying electricity.

The official Central News Agency said the incident was the island’s deadliest rail tragedy since 30 were killed in a 1981 collision in northern Taiwan.

“It’s terrifying. I really did not know how it happened. After a scene of terror, the train flipped, the seats were broken and suitcases were all over the place,” a seventh-grader with the surname Yang told the news agency.

Investigation underway

“We need to get some water in quickly,” a woman was seen shouting in a live broadcast on Facebook shortly after the crush in the late afternoon. Several passengers, who appeared to be suffering from minor injuries, were carried out from a deformed car by local villagers before rescuers arrived, the video showed.

“We will use all our strength and efforts for the rescue,” President Tsai Ing-wen wrote on her Facebook page.

An investigation was under way to find out the cause of the crash, Taiwan Railways Administration said. “The train was in pretty good condition,” its Deputy Chief Lu Chieh-Shen told a news conference.

An American citizen was injured. The authority was checking whether more foreigners were on board.

The derailment came weeks ahead of island-wide local elections that are being seen as a bellwether for Tsai’s ruling party’s performance in presidential elections due in 2020.

(Reporting by Jess Macy Yu, Yimou Lee, Lee Kun Han and Taipei bureau; Editing by David Goodman, Dale Hudson and Kirsten Donovan)

(Reuters)

What Explains the High Number of Railway Accidents?

In 2015-16, a majority of train accidents were caused due to derailments (60%), followed by accidents at level crossings (33%).

A train derailed in Pukhrayan, near Kanpur, in November 2016. Credit: Reuters/Jitendra Prakash

Safety has been one of the biggest concerns in the Indian Railways system. While the number of accidents have gone down over the last few years, the number still remains above 100. In light of recent train accidents, including the Duronto Express derailment on Tuesday (August 29) morning, it makes sense to look at the details around railway safety.

Causes of rail accidents

The number of rail accidents has declined from 325 in 2003-04 to 106 in 2015-16. The number of railway accidents divided by cause are shown in the graph below. In 2015-16, majority of the accidents were caused due to derailments (60%), followed by accidents at level crossings (33%). In the last decade, accidents caused due to both these causes have reduced by about half. According to news reports, the recent railway accidents in UP were also caused due to derailment of the coaches.

Derailments

Between 2003-04 and 2015-16, derailments were the second highest reason for casualties. The Standing Committee on Railways had noted that one of the reasons for derailments is defect in the track or rolling stock. Of the total track length of 1,14,907 km in the country, 4,500 km should be renewed annually. However, in 2015-16, of the 5,000 km of track length due for renewal currently, only 2,700 km of track length was targeted to be renewed. The Standing Committee had recommended that Indian Railways should switch completely to the Linke Hoffman Busch (LHB) coaches as they do not pile upon each other during derailments and hence cause lesser casualties.²

Unmanned level crossings

Unmanned level crossings (UMLCs) continue to be the biggest cause of maximum casualties in rail accidents. Currently there are 14,440 UMLCs in the railway network. In 2014-15, about 40% of the accidents occurred at UMLCs, and in 2015-16, about 28%. Between 2010 and 2013, the ministry fell short of meeting the targets to eliminate UMLCs. Further, the target of eliminating UMLCs was reduced by about 50% in 2014-15. The Standing Committee on Railways had recommended that audio-visual warnings should be implemented at level crossings to warn road users about approaching trains. These may include the Approaching Train Warning Systems and the Train Actuated Warning Systems. In the Union Budget 2017-18, elimination of all unmanned level crossings on broad gauge lines by 2020 has been proposed.

Casualties and compensation

In the last few years, the number of casualties has varied. Further, on average, Indian Railways has paid Rs 303 lakh every year towards compensation for such accidents (see figure below).

Consequential train accidents

Consequential train accidents include collisions, derailments, accidents at level crossings, train fires and similar accidents that have serious repercussions in terms of casualties and damage to property. These exclude cases of trespassing at unmanned railway crossings. The causes of such consequential train accidents are shown in the graph below.

As seen in the figure above, the share of failure of railways staff is the biggest cause of consequential rail accidents. The number of rail accidents due to failure of reasons other than the railway staff (sabotage) has increased in the last few years.

Accidents due to failure of railway staff

The Standing Committee on Railways, when examining safety and security in the railways, had noted that more than half of the accidents are due to lapses on the part of railway staff. Such lapses include carelessness in working, poor maintenance work, adoption of short-cuts and non-observance of laid down safety rules and procedures. The committee had recommended that a regular refresher course for each category of railway staff should be conducted.

Accidents due to loco-pilots

Accidents also occur due to signalling errors for which loco-pilots (train operators) are responsible. With rail traffic increasing, loco-pilots encounter a signal at every kilometre and have to constantly be on high alert. Further, currently no technological support is available to the loco-pilots and they have to keep a vigilant watch on the signal and control the train accordingly. Loco-pilots are also overworked as they have to work beyond their stipulated hours of duty. This work stress and fatigue puts the life of thousands of commuters at risk and affects the safety of train operations. The Standing Committee on Railways had recommended that loco-pilots and other related running staff be provided with sound working conditions, better medical facilities and other amenities to improve their performance. With regard to signals, the committee recommended that the location of signals can be uniformly displayed and be linked with visibility, braking distance and speed.

Under-investment in the railways leading to accidents

Various committees such as the High Level Safety Review Committee in 2012 (chaired by Anil Kakodkar) and the Standing Committee on Railways have looked at the aspect of safety in the Indian Railways and made certain recommendations. According to the Kakodkar Committee, the total financial implication of the safety measures over the five-year period (2012-17) was likely be around Rs 1 lakh crore.

In the Union Budget 2017-18, the creation of a Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh was proposed for passenger safety. It will have a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore over a period of five years (Rs 20,000 crore per year).

While accidents have been decreasing, the number still remains fairly high. The Standing Committee on Railways noted that the slow expansion of rail networks has put undue burden on the existing infrastructure, leading to severe congestion and safety compromises. Since independence, while the railways’ route kilometres have increased by 23%, passenger and freight traffic over the railways network has increased by 1,344% and 1,642% respectively. This suggests that the railway lines are severely congested. Further, under-investment in the railways has resulted in congested routes, inability to add new trains, reduction of train speeds and more rail accidents. Therefore, avoiding such accidents in the future would also require significant investments towards capital and maintenance of railways infrastructure.

Prachee Mishra is a senior analyst at PRS Legislative Research.

This article was originally published on the PRS blog and is republished here with permission.

Duronto Express Derails in Maharashtra, No Casualties Reported

Because of the incessant rains, it was difficult for rescue teams to get to stranded passengers.

Six coaches of the Duronto Express derailed on Tuesday morning. Credit: Twitter/ANI

Mumbai: Six coaches of the Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto express derailed near Maharashtra’s Asangaon early today, a senior railway official said.

No passenger was reported to be injured in the incident, Sunil Udasi, chief PRO of the central railways, said.

The accident took place around 6:35 am near the Asangaon railway station. Six coaches of the train jumped the tracks, another railway official said.

“Our rescue team along with the Accident Relief Train with engineering staff reached the spot,” he said, adding that traffic on the route is affected due to the derailment.

The official said a team of doctors has reached the spot and they are working to reach out to the stranded passengers and offer relief and restore the railway traffic on the route.

He said further details are awaited.

Central Railway spokesperson Anil Saxena also said that no casualty or injury has been reported in the incident.

However, an eyewitness travelling on the train claimed some passengers suffered minor injuries.

“At least six coaches along with the engine slipped out of the tracks. We could not understand what happened. Few people were stuck in the washrooms and were rescued by fellow travellers breaking the windows,” Justin Rao, the eyewitness, said.

He said the incessant rains increased their difficulties as no relief team could reach them even one and a half hours after the incident.

This is the third train derailment incident in the country in a a period of ten days.

Fourteen coaches of the high-speed Utkal Express jumped the tracks on August 19, with one of them crashing into a house adjacent to the track near Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district, claiming 23 lives and injuring over 60.

On August 25, six coaches of an Andheri-bound local train derailed in Mumbai, injuring six of its passengers.