Way forward

♤ National Rail Safety Fund: Rs 1.31 lakh crore have been allocated by the recent budget for rail safety to be spent over a period of next five years.

♤ Capital expenditure has been allocated by the budget to overhaul railway infrastructure, ranging from old tracks to erratic signalling systems.

♤ Need for an Independent Railway Safety Authority with chairman and expert from outside the government. It will do away high degree of vertical integration in the present situation.

♤ Elimination of both manned and unmanned crossing within next five years. For this Setu Bharatam project is being implemented under which bridges are being constructed to eliminate railway crossing from National Highways.

♤ Improve signalling system by adopting the Communication Based Train Control System (CBTC) to improve efficiency of track utilization and reduce accidents; adoption of an Advanced Signalling System (akin to the European Train Control System) for the entire trunk route length of 19,000 km within 5 years.

♤ Rationalise tariffs to generate resources, which is being done gradually with the recent budget.

♤ Restructuring of Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) for greater empowerment. Moreover Railway Research and Development Council (RRDC) be set up directly under the government.

Rail infrastructure need to be enhanced to meet increasing demand from both passengers and freight. The focus should be on increasing revenue from freight traffic and increasing investment in rail infrastructure to provide sustainable, safe and efficient transport system.