New Delhi: Though the incidents of train collision have come down to zero in 2018-19, the Economic Survey Thursday said the occurrence of fire in trains has registered an increase. The incidents of derailment have come down from 78 in 2016-17 to 46 in the last financial year, the Economic Survey 2018-19 said. "The incidents of train collision have come down to zero in the year 2018-19," the Survey noted. However, the occurrence of fire in trains has increased to six in 2018-19 as compared to one in 2016-17, it added.
Indian Railways has witnessed commendable progress and in order to provide safe, secure and comfortable journey to passengers, the Railways has taken numerous steps such as installing plastic bottle crusher machines, mechanised cleaning and housekeeping at major stations.
The revenue earning freight loading--excluding loading by Konkan Railways--during 2017-18 was at 1159.55 million tonne (MT), as against 1106.15 MT during 2016-17, registering an increase of 4.83 per cent. In 2018-19, Railways carried 1221.39 MT of revenue earning freight, showing an increase of 61.84 MT over the freight traffic of 2017-18. "There is an increase of 2.09 per cent in the number of passengers carried by IR (Indian Railways) during 2017-18 as compared to 2016-17 and 0.64 per cent increase in 2018-19 as compared to 2017-18," it said.
The national transporter has initiated a major electrification programme for electrifying 100 per cent of its broad gauge network, it said adding that the move will reduce the nation's dependence on imported diesel oil. As on April 1, 2019, "Indian Railways has 35,488 Route Kilometre (RKM) of network commissioned on electric traction which constitutes 51.85 per cent of total network and carries 64.50 per cent of freight and 53.70 per cent of coaching traffic." The pace of electrification is accelerated and a total of 38,000 RKM has been identified for electrification by 2021.
