Rail breaks are the main cause of train derailments | So Good News

Track maintenance has become a cause for concern with around 10 freight train derailment incidents since November 2020.

A total of 22 carriages were derailed due to rail breakage in the Northwest zone on January 25, 2022. Six carriages of a goods train were derailed on October 24 this year in the Hubbali section due to suspected track failure. The inquiry report is still being processed.

Track failure has emerged as a major cause of train derailment in recent times and efforts are underway to address the issue as more such incidents are feared in the near future with a drop in temperature, according to Indian Railways.

According to the railway data, welding failure and rail breakage are major causes of train accidents in recent times.

Considering the current situation, there is a requirement to adopt a modern system to detect track failures at a faster pace to prevent derailments, according to the railway.

A fully loaded freight train from Kirandul was derailed on 10 November 2020, in the Waltair division due to rail breakage. Twelve wagons overturned and were derailed. The section was blocked and other trains coming from Kirandul were diverted. The reason for the derailment was a material fault in addition to rail breakage.

On 1 December 2020, three coaches were derailed in the Kharagpur division due to rail breakage followed by another train derailment on 29 December 2020 in the East Coast zone.

In another case of rail breakage, four wheels of a locomotive were destroyed when an engine moved on a corroded line and the track was destroyed on 15 January 2021 in the Chennai Central section.

Seventeen wagons fell off a bridge in Bilaspur division of South East Central zone on 9 July 2021.

A derailment occurred primarily due to welding failure in the Bhusawal section of the Central Railway Zone on 15 August 2021.

A locomotive was derailed on the Chennai Central section due to rail breakage on 16 September 2021.

A container train loaded with tiles derailed due to a broken rail on November 11, 2021.

There is a need for rapid introduction of sensor-based automatic machines to detect rail breaks with complete replacement of manual systems in each section.

An Australian technology was used in the Konkan Railway to detect rail breaks on about 600 km of railway line and it was found to be quite effective in preventing track failures in time.

There is proven technology to detect rail breaks at a faster pace and the state-of-the-art systems will be adopted by Indian Railways to prevent rail accidents, the national carrier maintains.