Railway safety at record high, safety budget has grown almost three times since 2013-14: Ashwini Vaishnaw

New Delhi [India], December 12 (ANI): Railways has reached "record highs" in terms of safety with annual consequential train accidents dropping sharply from an average of 171 per year during 2004-14 to just 11 so far in 2025-26, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Lok Sabha on Friday.
He said that that safety and security of passengers is accorded high priority on Indian Railways. Any unusual incident is thoroughly investigated by the Railway Administration. Wherever any reason other than technical reason is suspected, the help of State Police is taken.
In some cases, the guidance of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) is also sought. However, the primary means of investigation is through the State Police.
Vaishnaw said in a written reply that all incidents of sabotage/tampering with railway track reported in 2023 and 2024, cases have been registered by Police/GRP of states and other law enforcement agencies followed by investigation, arrest of offenders and their prosecution.
He said several steps have been taken by Railways for better coordination with State Police/GRP, for coordinated action to prevent such incidents.
These include frequent patrolling of identified black spots and vulnerable sections are being jointly done by Railwaymen, RPF, GRP & Civil Police.
Special teams are formed to patrol high-risk areas, vulnerable sections and sharing of intelligence to mitigate threats effectively, the minister said, adding that regular drives are conducted to remove material lying near to the railway tracks which can potentially be used by miscreants for obstruction by putting those materials on railway track.
To improve Safety in train operations, several measures have been taken by Indian Railways, he said.
"As a consequence of various safety measures taken over the years, there has been a steep decline in the number of accidents. Consequential Train Accidents have reduced from 135 in 2014-15 to 31 in 2024-25," the Minister said.
"The Consequential Train Accidents during the period 2004-14 was 1711 (average 171 per annum), which has declined to 31 in 2024-25 and further to 11 in 2025-26 (upto November, 2025)," he added.
He said that safety budget has grown almost three times from Rs 39,463 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 1,16,470 crore in current fiscal.
Fog Safety Devices have risen 288 times -- from 90 in 2014 to 25,939 in 2025. The Centralised Electronic Interlocking and Track-Circuiting has been completed in 21 stations each over the last four months, he said.
He said Electrical/Electronic Interlocking Systems with centralized operation of points and signals have been provided at 6,656 stations up to October 31, 2025 to reduce accident due to human failure.
Interlocking of Level Crossing (LC) Gates has been provided at 10,098 Level Crossing Gates up to 31.10.2025 for enhancing safety at LC Gates.
The minister said complete Track Circuiting of stations to enhance safety by verification of track occupancy by electrical means has been provided at 6,661 stations up to October 31, 2025. (ANI)