India’s ‘derailment minister’ slammed for fatal train accidents, years of track neglect

Eight train derailments occurred last month on different heavily used routes in northern India, with two more incidents reported earlier in August.

At least three people were killed and 30 others injured in these accidents, which also caused significant damage to railway infrastructure and embarrassment to the government.

“He [Ashwini Vaishnaw] is the ‘derailment minister’. How many trains have derailed in the last two years? In the last two months, four goods [freight trains] have derailed. He should have resigned, taking moral responsibility for about 300 deaths in the Balasore incident,” opposition leader Gaurav Gogoi told parliament on Friday.

Gogoi was referring to a tragedy in June last year when three trains collided in the Balasore district of the eastern state of Odisha, killing nearly 300 people and injuring 1,200 others, making it one of the deadliest train disasters in the country’s history.

“With so many accidents, people will stop travelling by train if this continues,” Sanatan Pandey, another opposition parliamentarian, said.

As the debate over the train accidents raged, railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw pushed back against the opposition, saying the average number of derailments had not increased over the years but offered no explanation for the recent incidents.

Indian Railways, which has a 174-year-old history, is the country’s largest employer with a 1.3 million-strong workforce. The country’s state-run vast train network, the fourth largest in the world, is the lifeblood of its transport system.

Railway experts have questioned policymakers following the latest accidents, saying it reflects the misplaced focus of the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the railway sector. They argue that the