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KOLKATA, Dec. 22

COMMENTING on the accident on Saturday night involving the Kacheguda-Bangalore Express near Kurnool which has claimed 19 lives so far, the Union Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, has admitted that the Railways cannot be absolved of responsibility when such accidents occur. He said the breakage detected on the track near the derailment site was now under investigation by various agencies including the Railway Protection Force.

Asked if he was suspecting rail fracture, Mr Kumar said the quality of the rail on that section was of A1 category. Sounding a reassuring note, he claimed that rail accidents in the country had actually been declining over the years. They got reported in a much bigger way these days thanks to the information revolution, and "I welcome this trend," he added.

He was addressing a press conference here today at Hasnabad railway station near the Bangladesh border in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, after flagging-off the first EMU train on the just electrified 57-km Hasnabad-Barasat section of Eastern Railway.

Pressed on the sabotage theory with regard to Saturday's derailment, he cautioned that it was not proper to jump to any conclusions when investigations were going on. He said utmost priority was now being given to the safety aspect by Railways, through continuing track circuiting (in yards) for early detection of weaknesses. "We are doing everything to prevent rail accidents, but accidents per se are a universal phenomenon," he pointed out. He, however, added that while the Railways accepted responsibility, the State Governments too needed to remain vigilant, as the RPF was under their purview.

Asked on the current status of the Rs 17,000-crore non-lapsable Railway Safety Fund (RSF), set up in July 2001-02 and operationalised in October, mainly for replacement of over-aged tracks, rolling stock and signalling systems, as recommended by the Khanna committee on rail safety, the Minister said overdue renewals were being taken up. Projects all over the country had been identified and placed before Parliament in the form of a Green Book, he clarified. "Our aim is to reach a state of no-accidents."

He informed that against an allocated Rs 1,400 crore during 2001-02 from the RSF, Rs 1,434 crore was spent.

Admitting that the passenger surcharge component fell short by Rs 100 crore, he said the shortfall was entirely made up through railways' internal resources. Some Rs 1,000 crore was provided by way of dividend-free budgetary support.

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