By Chanchal Mukherjee
New Delhi: The Railway is running a special safety drive to ensure smooth train operations during the summer season following which special instructions have been given to the trackmen patrolling tracks to inspect them thoroughly, keep checking track welding, ballast, fittings as per the rules and monitor rail temperature records for patrolling in hot weather.
Shashi Kiran, Chief Public Relations Officer of the North Western Railway (NWR), said, "In view of various unusual incidents and accidents in the summer season, NWR is running safety drives on summer precautions."
NWR General Manager, Amitabh has instructed the officers to conduct regular inspections and counsel subordinate staff from time to time for safe rail operations during summer.
As per railways, the power equipment of train engine, fuel tank, radiator fan, and water cooling system are being thoroughly examined. The working capacity of electrical substations, distribution network, panels, transformers, air conditioning plants, ACs, pumps, cooling plants, lifts, escalators, and fans are also being checked continuously. Fire prevention measures, earthing network, and proper rating of switchgear are being checked.
Similarly, Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, CPRO, Northeast Frontier Railways said, "To ensure all safety measures in place and working properly, NFR launched a 10-day long comprehensive safety drive with a focus on the inspection of points and crossings across various divisions. During the checking, NFR’s General Manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava, along with other senior railway officials, actively participated in the field inspections, emphasising the top-level commitment towards track safety and operational excellence."
The joint teams of officers from the Engineering and Signal & Telecommunication (S&T) departments carried out targeted inspections at randomly selected points and crossings, based on earlier safety drives and inspection findings.
"These efforts aimed to identify and rectify any deficiencies or irregularities on a priority basis, thereby strengthening the overall health of critical track infrastructure. A key aspect of the inspection also included the measurement of toe load of Elastic Rail Clip (ERC) fittings. Toe load monitoring is vital for maintaining track geometry, reducing the risk of rail movement and preventing unprecedented incidents like derailments, making it a central parameter in track safety management," Sharma added.
Arun Kumar Jain, General Manager, South Central Railway conducted a safety review meeting and emphasised strict adherence to safety protocols and avoidance of shortcut methods. Jain advised staff for regular field-level counselling to reinforce safety awareness among railway personnel. Jain also reviewed cattle run-over cases, stressing the necessity of proactive measures to prevent disruptions in train movement.
Northeast Railway, General Manager, Saumya Mathur instructed the officials on the progress of works and safe and secure rail movement and directed them to maintain proper visibility of signals.
The Railways said that to ensure zero missing fittings on tracks, replacement of fittings and adequate toe load should be ensured. Any lifting or tampering work with running rails should be done only under traffic block and that too when the temperature is within permissible limit.
