A railway employee dies in the line of duty on four days out of five, making his job statistically far more dangerous than that of security forces in some of India's most violent combat zones.

An average 300 railwaymen have been killed in accidents every year over the past 4-5 years, S K Jain, Member (Engineering) of the Railway Board, told The Indian Express. Most of them were run over by trains as they patrolled the tracks to ensure there were no fractures in the rails, a major reason for derailments.

While the railwaymen work at all times, in the scorching sun or pouring rain, the number of deaths has spiked at night and in winter, when they use flashlights to look for cracks.

A total 285 railwaymen were killed in accidents in 2012, nearly eight times the number of personnel (37) that the CRPF lost fighting leftwing extremism. In addition, 800 railwaymen were injured while physically monitoring 1 lakh kilometres of tracks in the country.

"Until a few years ago, over 400 people were being killed on average every year. We have been able to bring the number down, but it is still unacceptably high. A technological solution is needed," Jain said.

The Railways has now reached out for a track-inspection technique patented by the South African Navy, which it hopes will help it do away with the century-old system of physically walking down the tracks.

The technology, called Railsonic, involves the release of an ultrasonic wave along the rails every 10 minutes, the receipt of which by a receiver at the other end confirms the absence of fractures.

The technology will be tried out on a 25-km stretch of the Konkan Railway. It will cost Rs 5 lakh per kilometre, and can be deployed fairly soon, officials said.

3 Comments

Trending News

Recent News

Cyclone Vardah May Hit Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu Coast on 12th Cyclone Vardah May Hit Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu Coast on 12th Cyclone is currently located 520 kms south-southeast of Nellore, 490 kms east-southeast of Machilipatnam and 480 kms east-northeast of Chennai.…… Count of Indians studying in American Universities Count of Indians studying in American Universities About 206,582 Indians, an increase of 14 percent, are pursuing higher education in American Universities and Institutions. Majority of the…… ‘Love Hyderabad’ Sculpture Spoiled With Spit Stains, Foot-marks ‘Love Hyderabad’ Sculpture Spoiled With Spit Stains, Foot-marks Love Hyderabad, city's latest selfie spot at the Tank Bund continues to be defaced with foot-marks, spit stains and scribbles…… Security hiked in Kerala-TN border as Jayalalithaa critical Security hiked in Kerala-TN border as Jayalalithaa critical {"items":[{"type":"image","title":"","description":"","images":[{"name":"Security hiked in Kerala-TN border as Jayalalithaa critical","url":"security-hiked-in-kerala-tn-border-as-jayalalithaa-critical_z5HG.jpg","uploaded":false,"image_url":"\/media\/images\/news-articles\/india\/security-hiked-in-kerala-tn-border-as-jayalalithaa-critical_z5HG.jpg","image_url_final":"media\/images\/news-articles\/india\/security-hiked-in-kerala-tn-border-as-jayalalithaa-critical_z5HG.jpg"}]}],"description":"Security was beefed up on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border as Tamil Nadu Chief…… Jaya - Get Well Soon: PM, President & Politicos Jaya - Get Well Soon: PM, President & Politicos {"items":[{"type":"image","title":"","description":"","images":[{"name":"Jaya - Get Well Soon: PM, President & Politicos","url":"jaya-get-well-soon-pm-president-politicos_z5HG.jpg","uploaded":false,"image_url":"\/media\/images\/news-articles\/india\/jaya-get-well-soon-pm-president-politicos_z5HG.jpg","image_url_final":"media\/images\/news-articles\/india\/jaya-get-well-soon-pm-president-politicos_z5HG.jpg"}]}],"description":"Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa suffered a heart attack Yesterday. From President…… More India News