Kolkata, Nov 04: Concerned over rising train mishaps, Railway Minister Nitish Kumar today said the government was taking appropriate steps to bring down accident rate in the country. Accident rates in India, he said, were low compared to other countries. "Train accident rates, measured in per million train km, is low in the country."
In the last financial year, the accident rate was 0.44, the Minister said, which was an all-time low.
The Ministry nevertheless would spent money from the railway safety fund for increasing safety aspects, including repair of bridges, strengthening tracks and installation of anti-collision devices, he said.
The Ministry has also set a target to control derailment as well as to prevent collisions.
Speaking on the railway golden quadrilateral connecting the four metros of Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, he said Rs 15,000 crore would be spent in laying additional lines between the four points.
He said after completion of the project, freight earnings in the high density network would increase substantially.
Bureau Report