Railway zones recorded 240 signal failures per day on an average in June with the northern zone reporting the highest at 56 incidents. During this month, a total of 7,216 signal failures were recorded across India, shows ministry data.
According to the data, which was accessed by News18, this number was around 45 percent more when compared to figures from April or May and about 50 percent more as compared to last year’s figures for June.
The data showed that out of total signal failures reported, the highest at 1,690 were from the northern zone alone. Eastern Railway was second in line with 808 incidents.
Further, in the April-June period, signal failures stood at 16,458 – making it about 183 incidents per day. For the same period last year, this number was 15,129.
This data comes in wake of a triple train crash in Odisha’s Balasore on June 2, which claimed nearly 300 lives. An investigation by the Commission of Railway Safety revealed that wrong signalling and human error at multiple levels were the main reason behind the mishap.
Increase in failure of electric loco, overhead equipment
Incidents of electric loco failure for June this year stood at 1,354 with the South East Central Railway reporting the highest cases at 204. In June last year, this number was 1,250.
In case of electric loco failure, the highest share was of goods trains at 337 while it was 152 in case of passenger trains.
Also, 251 incidents of overhead equipment failure were reported in June, up from 199 last year. Overall, during April-June, 636 incidents of overhead equipment failures were reported, which is up from 590 during the same period last year.
There were at least 308 cases of diesel loco failure during the month, of which 74 were from the North Western Railway alone.
A ministry official said the Indian Railways was known for its safety and these numbers did not signify anything. “All machines are prone to failures. In our system, where thousands of trains are running per day, incidents of equipment failures are also high. During June, it was higher as we run special trains during summer,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
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