Railway Safety Commission: Metro safety offices still unsanctioned

This is the Annual Report for 2015-16 issued by the Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety (under the Ministry of Civil Aviation), detailing the statutory activities of the Commission of Railway Safety, including accident investigations, inspections of new lines, and safety sanctions. It matters to citizens as it provides an official record of railway safety oversight, accident inquiry outcomes, and infrastructure approvals during the specified financial year.

Who it concerns: The report concerns the Commission of Railway Safety (including the Chief Commissioner and 9 Commissioners of Railway Safety), the Central Government, Indian Railways administrations, Metro Railway corporations (Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Jaipur, Hyderabad), and the general public using railway and metro services.

What the inquiry found

• The Commission conducted 14 statutory inquiries into serious accidents and made 57 recommendations arising from these inquiries.
• Statutory inspections were performed on 1037.503 Kms of new lines, 747.124 Kms of additional lines, 1062.679 Kms of gauge conversion, 8.497 Kms of deviation lines, and 1729.902 Kms of electric traction introduction.
• Metro line inspections included 14.482 Kms of Delhi Metro, 9.854 Kms of Bangalore Metro, 10.177 Kms of Chennai Metro, 8.1 Kms of Hyderabad Metro, and 9.63 Kms of Jaipur Metro.
• The Commission sanctioned 4342 proposals for the execution of new minor works and 113 cases for the running of new types of rolling stock.
• Periodic inspections of Government Railways covered 14,126 Kms.
• As of 31.3.2016, the actual strength of Commissioners was seven against nine sanctioned posts, and there were seven vacancies for Deputy Commissioners.

Also in the document

• The report notes that Metro Railway Safety circle offices have not been sanctioned until now, with some Commissioners assigned functions related to Metro Railways.
• Several Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner positions were vacant during parts of the 2015-16 financial year, including in the Central, Eastern, Northern, Northeast Frontier, and Western circles.
• The Commission of Railway Safety is part of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, with its headquarters located in Lucknow.