Indian Railways has dismissed the data used by Times of India in its article on Railways infrastructure in India as “baseless”. Times of India claimed in its report that 98% of railway tracks in India were laid pre-independence between the years 1870 and 1930.
Taking to Twitter to issue a clarification on the same, the spokesperson for Indian Railways said, “We reject this @timesofindia article as baseless & devoid of facts. Irresponsible journalism at such a sensitive juncture is not something expected from a media house of your stature.”
Further comparing the length of the railway tracks, he added that the length of the running track in 1950-51 was 59,315 KMs while it stands at 1,07,832 KMs in 2022-23.
Indian Railways infrastructure has been under a lot of scrutiny following the tragic accident in Balasore, Odisha, but the data actually shows that Indian Railways has seen a significant improvement in safety standards since the Modi government took office in 2014. The data shared by the Railways also highlights that the track length in India has nearly doubled since independence and the Times of India’s claims in their report had no factual basis.
Balasore Train Accident
On June 2, a massive train accident involving one goods train and two passenger trains took place in Balasore, Odisha claiming the lives of over 275 people and leaving over 900 people injured.
Notably, yesterday, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the cause of the Balasore accident and the people responsible for the same has been identified. While he said that the matter is being investigated by the Commissioner of Railway Safety and it will not be proper for him to comment on it, he added that the accident took place due to a change in electronic interlocking.
Vaishnaw also said that the accident has nothing to do with the absence of the Kavach anti-collision system, adding that things like electronic interlocking, point machines etc were involved in the matter.