Rail accidents claimed 25,006 lives in 2014: NCRB

Rail accidents claimed 25,006 lives in 2014: NCRB

NEW DELHI: Over 25,000 people died and 3,882 were injured in railway accidents in 2014, a government report has said. 

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report said 28,360 cases of 'railway accidents' were reported during the year, showing a decrease of 9.2% compared to 2013 (31,236 cases). 

The majority of railway accidents (61.6%) was due to fall from trains or collision with people on the tracks (17,480 out of 28,360 cases), the report said. 

Maharashtra reported the maximum such cases, accounting for 42.5% of total cases of fall from train or collision of trains with people. A railway official said most such cases were reported from suburban services in the state and railways was running a campaign to educate people not to cross the tracks. 

Of the total 25,006 deaths in railway accidents, 14,391 persons died due to either fall from trains or collision of trains with people on the tracks, accounting for 57.6% of total deaths in railway accidents.

A total of 469 cases of railway accidents occurred due to mechanical defects like poor design, track faults, bridge/tunnel faults during 2014. In Andhra Pradesh, 385 persons died in railway accidents due to mechanical defects. 

Sabotage by extremists/terrorists/others caused 13 and five railways accidents in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh respectively that led to loss of 18 lives.

It was found that around 60 accidents were reported due to fault of drivers that killed 67 people.

The NCRB said 2,547 cases of 'railway crossing accidents' were reported which led to deaths of 2,575 people and injury to 126 people. Telangana (1,061 cases) reported the maximum number of railway crossing accidents, accounting for 41.7% of the total. 

The report also said that 836 deaths took place at unmanned railway crossings and 78.2% of such incidents were reported in Assam alone during 2014. 

Interestingly, most railway accidents (4,966 out of 28,360) were reported between 6 am and 9 am, accounting for 17.5% of the total. Between 9 am and 12 noon, 16.9% of railway accidents were reported.

Maharashtra reported the maximum accidents between 3 pm and 6 pm and between 6 pm and 9pm, accounting for 23.9% (11,902 cases) and 28.7% (13,927 cases) respectively.

Source:Times Of India.